What Makes Us Who We Are
by Catalina H
Summary: Someone gets the surprise of their life after a confusing case. What happens next, and how will they handle it? And how does a smart aleck teenager fit in? Join them through cases, surprises, and their personal lives to find out.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Don't own NUMB3RS!**

**A/N: Ok, I don't really know what to say about this other than it got it in my head and won't leave. So, here it is. Hope you enjoy!  
**

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What Makes Us Who We Are

Chapter 1

"Okay, so what do we know so far?" Don asked.

They were all running on empty practically. This was a tough case. They'd been called when several major drug dealers had all been essentially executed in their own garage. It seemed like a professional job. The fact that they were under investigation and had mob connections wasn't sitting too well either. They still hadn't gotten any leads. Now they were just trying to figure out how they could possibly narrow down the list of people who were capable of doing this, and had motive. To be honest, it was a very long list. Going over it again, they realized they weren't getting any closer.

"Hey guys, fingerprints from the garage just came back, we got a hit," Megan said, brightening everyone's day as she brought the file up on the screen so they could all see.

"Who is he?" David asked, looking at the picture of the gruff, but handsome, young man.

"Kyle Richardson, low-level drug dealer, some petty theft charges, nothing too big," Megan read from his file.

"OK, so what does he have to do with our case? Think he's the shooter?" Colby asked.

"Who knows, but it's worth checking out," Don said.

xxxxx

"Kyle Richardson!" Megan called through the door after knocking. When no answer came, her and Colby shared a look, and pulled their guns, before using the key the landlord had given them.

They began clearing the apartment. While Megan had taken one bedroom, Colby took the other. He opened the door to find a teenage girl, in loose fitting jeans that hung on her hips, a tank top that showed most of her mid-section, and a hooded jacket. She looked barely seventeen, a little thin, and her dark hair was in a messy bun. She froze for a second when she saw Colby, but quickly grabbed her backpack and was out the window, heading down the fire escape before he knew it.

"FBI, STOP!" Colby yelled after her, and started following her. Megan ran in, and saw Colby climbing out the window as well.

"I'll take the stairs," she said as he started making his way down the fire escape quickly.

He made it down not long after the girl, and chased her into the alley behind the apartment building. She was faster though, and was already over the fence by the time he got there. As he made it over as well, she was long gone. He panted and took a deep breath before making his way back to Megan in front of the building.

"I lost her."

"Wonder what she was doing there?" Megan wondered out loud.

"Let's go find out," Colby suggested, and they made their way back up to the apartment.

When they walked back into the room she'd been, they noticed the decorations and pictures.

"This must be her room," Megan said as she picked up a picture. "Look, here's one of her and Kyle Richardson." She handed Colby the photo, and sighed. "I wonder what the connection is."

"I dunno, but she's gotta know something if she just took off like that."

"Think it's anything to do with our case?"

"Who knows."

"Well, let's get a couple of these back to the lab, see if we can't get a print off of one. Maybe then we can find out who she is."

xxxxx

"And she just took off?" David asked, something just didn't add up.

"Yeah, she saw me and started running before I knew it," Colby told him.

"What was she doing there?" Don asked.

"We think it might've been her room," Megan said, looking up from Kyle Richardson's file. She'd been looking it over to try and find a connection to the mysterious teenager.

"And we don't know who she was?" Don asked her. Megan shook her head.

"No, but the lab was able to pull a print. They're running it now, so we'll see if we get a hit in AFIS."

xxxxx

"Hey, that was the lab, they got a hit," Colby announced.

"So? Who is she?" David asked as Colby brought up the file.

"Rain Zamora," Colby informed them. "She's got a record for shoplifting, breaking and entering, trespassing, vandalism, and she just got out of juvenile hall six months ago. She served two years for grand theft auto, still on probation."

"Does it say anything about how to find her?" Megan asked.

"Last known address, no surprise here, same apartment. It's got her school though, apparently she's got a pretty good attendance record."

"OK, you and David go see if she showed up today," Don told them, seeing them nod and leave he then turned to Megan. "See if you can contact her probation officer, find out what he knows."

"You got it."

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**A/N: Well, hope you liked the first chapter. Reviews are appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here's the next chapter, Enjoy!**

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Chapter 2

"Here's her locker," the principal said as he opened it up for David and Colby.

"Thanks," Colby replied, looking in the locker while David talked to the principal.

"When was the last time she was here?" David asked the principal.

"Yesterday. She's very good about her attendance. Sure, there are a few days she's late, leaves early, or doesn't show up at all, but I suppose it's the best we can expect under the circumstances," the principal informed them.

"Circumstances?" David replied, confused.

"Well, you know with her being an ex-con and all," he said simply. David and Colby shared a quick glance with each other. "She's not too much of a problem anymore though, I suppose," the principal huffed.

"What do you mean?" David asked.

"She's was quite bothersome when she first showed up. Fighting with other students, skipping or showing up late all the time, and being rude and disrespectful to the teachers. I honestly thought I was going to have to expel her," he explained.

"So what changed?"

"Who knows," the principal said dismissively. "She'll probably show up for the next class, you're welcome to wait in my office if you'd like."

"Thank you." And with that the principal smiled, and walked back to his office. "That guy is a little..."

"Stereotypical?" Colby supplied.

"Yeah, and a pain in the ass," David agreed. Colby chuckled, but paused when he noticed something.

"Hey David, check this out."

"What is it?" David asked as he joined Colby by the locker.

"Look," he said, showing David the backpack he'd found. "Is this a little odd to you?" David inspected the contents further, noticing it was full of clothes.

"What would she be doing with a bag of clothes in her school locker?" David wondered.

"That's what I'm curious about."

xxxxx

"Hey Jess!" A girl called through the hallways.

The teenage girl from the apartment was the subject. She turned to see her friend jogging over to her.

"Hey Lil, what's up?" she asked casually.

"Where've you been? You missed first AND second period."

"I know, stuff at home I had to take care of," she answered vaguely.

"Oh. Well, I think principal Landers wanted to see you for something," Lil told her.

"Why?" the girl from the apartment asked, suddenly a little suspicious.

"Dunno," Lil shrugged. "But apparently you needed to go see him when you got here. Mrs. Thomas told me when I got your homework. Here you go by the way," she continued, handing the girl some papers.

"Thanks Lil," she told her, shoving the papers in her messenger bag.

"Anytime. See ya!"

"See ya."

The girl from the apartment made her way to the office, suddenly very curious why the principal wanted to see her.

"Hey Glenda, Lil said Mr. Landers wanted to see me," she said to the secretary.

"Oh yes dear, go on back, he's waiting for you," the woman said sweetly.

"Thanks," the girl said slowly.

She knocked on the cracked open door of the principal's office, and peeked in.

"Ah, Miss Zamora, please come in," he stated. She did so hesitantly. "There is someone here to see you." He pointed to David, who stood to face the girl.

"Rain Zamora?" David inquired, making sure it was the right girl.

"Yeah?" She was eyeing him suspiciously.

"David Sinclair, I'm wi-" he started, but she'd turned quickly when she saw his badge.

Her quick exit was blocked when she literally ran into Colby, who had just entered the doorway.

"Remember me?" he asked lightly. When she tried to get around him he stopped her again. "Uh-uh. Not this time. Turn around," he ordered. She sighed and cursed under her breath as he cuffed her. "Come on, time for you to answer a few questions."

As Colby took her out, David turned back to the principal, who had an arrogant smirk on his face.

"Thanks for all your cooperation," David said politely.

"Anytime," he replied before chuckling a little. "I'm just glad to be rid of her." David forced a small smile as he took a calming breath. "She's probably no better than that brother of hers," the principal commented offhandedly.

"Brother?" David inquired, he didn't remember reading anything about a brother.

"Yes, he's a miscreant if I ever saw one." David nodded slowly.

"Well, thanks again," he said, grateful to get away from that guy.

xxxxx

"So Rain, wanna tell us what you were doing in the apartment?" Don asked the girl, who was sitting there calmly.

"I go by Jess. Well, as you probably figured out already, I live there," she answered sarcastically.

"So Jess, why did you run?" Colby asked. Jess rolled her eyes.

"If someone came into your apartment with a gun, and you were unarmed, what would you do?" she retorted.

"I announced who I was," Colby shot back.

"Yeah, but people lie, and I sure as hell wasn't gonna stick around to find out if you were or not," she stated simply.

"OK, how do you know Kyle Richardson?" Don asked. She looked away for a second. "Is he your brother?" he continued, and could swear he saw surprise on her face for a quick second. But she slowly nodded.

"Half-brother," she corrected.

"You know where he is?" Colby asked. Jess smirked.

"Funny, I was gonna ask you the same thing," she puffed.

"Why's that?" Don inquired. She rolled her eyes.

"Because aren't you guys the ones who are supposed to be keeping an eye on him?" she drawled sarcastically. Don and Colby shared a look, which she caught. "You guys don't know do you?" she questioned, with an amused smile on her face.

"Know what?" Don pushed. She just chuckled.

"If you don't know, then I'm not so sure I should tell you," she stated, leaning back in the chair and crossing her arms.

"Yeah? I think you better," Don said firmly.

"Or what?" she countered, not fazed in the least.

"Why won't you tell us?" Colby asked.

"Because it could cost him his life," Jess told him exasperatedly, then stared pointedly at Don."If it was your brother, would you risk his life on a meaningless fact?" When Don didn't say anything, just continued staring at her, she knew she'd struck a nerve. "That's what I thought."

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**A/N: Well, hope you enjoyed that chapter! Reviews are appreciated! Update should come soon.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Yay, new chapter! lol, well, here it is. Enjoy!**

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Chapter 3

"Still not talking?" Megan asked as Don and Colby rejoined her.

"Nope, I swear she's more stubborn than Don," Colby commented. Don sent him a scowl, and Megan and Colby just laughed.

"She's knows a lot more than she's letting on," Don said.

"Yeah, but the question is, how do we get her talking?" Megan replied. Colby and Don just shrugged.

"She may be a stubborn smart ass with a rock hard exterior, but don't be fooled, she's still just a kid," a man in the doorway said. The three just stared at him until David entered the room.

"Guys, this is Mac Daniels, he's her probation officer," he informed them.

"Don Eppes," Don introduced himself, shaking the guys hand. "This is Megan Reeves and Colby Granger."

"Nice to meet you all," Daniels said. "So, what'd she do this time?"

"We were kinda hoping you could tell us," David told him.

"Why? What happened?" he asked, confused.

"We went to the apartment looking for Kyle Richardson, and she saw us and took off running. Tried the same thing when we went to her school," Colby informed him. Daniels nodded, but still seemed confused.

"Who's Kyle Richardson?" he asked. The others looked at each other.

"You don't know either?" David asked.

"He's the guy she's living with, her brother," Megan told him. Daniels had a look of realization wash over his face, and started laughing, confusing the team.

"She didn't tell you did she?" Daniels asked.

"She said if we didn't know she didn't think she should tell us," Don informed him.

"That sounds like her," Daniels sighed. Shaking his head he continued, "Her brother's name isn't Kyle Richardson, it's Kyle Scott. He works for DEA."

"He what?" David stuttered.

"Why wouldn't she tell us?" Megan wondered.

"So, if he's undercover or something, why hasn't anyone showed up to tell us?" Don asked, knowing full well the record and everything else they'd pulled up on Richardson was fake because he was undercover.

"I honestly don't know," Daniels answered. "He said something about working more, but he probably changed the name on the apartment and stuff so the people he's after wouldn't go after Jess. They have different fathers, and while he took his father's name, Jess took their mother's. So no one would ever think to question the different names. It may sound strange that he'd put her in a position to possibly be involved, but he wouldn't put her in danger if had any other choice. As much as he tries to protect her, he still won't leave her alone, not again."

"What do you mean 'not again'?" Megan asked. Daniels took a deep breath.

"Kyle practically raised that kid, he even lived at home during college so she wouldn't be left alone with their mother. But when he got on with DEA, he had no choice, he left. Their mom was, probably still is, a junkie. She was never a fit mother, and not long after he left she proved it. Social Services stepped in, and put Jess in foster care. She got mixed up with some people, and paid for it. When her brother found out, he fought for custody. The judge finally granted it after she was released six months ago, and Kyle's taken care of her ever since," Daniels explained.

"What about their fathers?" David asked.

"Well, Kyle's was killed in a car accident, hit by a drunk driver, when he was about seven I think. He was a big influence on him though as far as I can tell, probably why Kyle turned out so good. And Jess'...well, from what I know, it was just a one night stand her mom met in a bar. I don't think she even knows his last name, or that much about him."

"That still doesn't explain why she wouldn't tell us who he is," Colby said. Daniels shrugged.

"_That_ I can't tell you either. If I had to guess it's probably just one of those neurotic tendencies she picked up from her brother," he told him.

"Like?" Megan prompted.

"Like not to trust people very many people, not even cops."

"Think you can get her to talk?" Don asked him.

"I can try," Daniels replied.

xxxxx

"Hey kid," Daniels said as he entered the interrogation room with Don and Megan.

"Mac?" Jess said when she saw him.

"Nice to see you too," he told her sarcastically. She rolled her eyes. "I told them who Kyle is."

"You what?!" she exclaimed. "Why?"

"Well, how was I suppose to know I shouldn't, huh? You didn't mention anything about it." Jess looked away from him. "Two months," he stated.

"Huh?" she questioned, looking back at him. Daniels looked her in the eye.

"Two months ago is when you guys moved to that apartment. You had at least two months to tell me what was going on, but you didn't," he explained.

"You didn't need to know," she told him simply.

"Do I need to know now?" he countered. She didn't say anything to that. "Come on Jess, why wouldn't you tell them Kyle works for DEA and he's undercover?" She opened her mouth to say something, but he cut her off first. "And don't lie to me," he warned. She took a deep breath.

"I couldn't," she sighed.

"Why not?" Don asked. She stared at him for a minute. "Why did you say it could cost him his life?" Jess closed her eyes, and inhaled deeply.

"Because -" She stopped abruptly, and was staring out the window of the room. "Why don't you ask him," she said icily, motioning to the man standing outside the door talking to Colby.

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**A/N: Well, hope you liked this chapter! Reviews are appreciated! Update should come soon.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Here's the next chapter. Hope you like it, enjoy!**

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Chapter 4

Don went out to talk to the guy, very curious as to what was with the tone Jess had when she saw him. Colby saw Don approaching and waved the guy over.

"Hey Don, this is Agent Watson with DEA."

"What took you so long?" Don asked as he shook the guys hand. He saw no point in wasting time with pleasantries. Watson gave him a small smile.

"Well, Scott was deep undercover and I saw no reason to blow his cover," he stated simply. Don raised his eyebrows at that.

"You think we would have blown his cover?" he asked skeptically. "For the record, we wouldn't have. Besides, it could've saved us quite a bit of time trying to chase him down. You didn't think we needed to know? Why?"

"Because him being DEA has nothing to do with your case, nor will it impact it in any way," Watson told them in an annoyed tone.

"What does that mean?" Colby asked.

"That means that Scott has been doing undercover with these kinds of people so long, I wouldn't be surprised if he's flipped. I haven't heard from him in almost a month," he sighed.

"I wonder why," Jess said sarcastically from behind Don and Colby, who both turned to look at her.

"I should've known you were the one who blew his cover," Watson exhaled, giving her a pointed look.

"She didn't, he did," Megan told him, pointing to Daniels, who just shrugged. Watson rolled his eyes.

"Something we should know?" Don asked, noticing the tension between Jess and Watson.

"Just that he's a self-centered, little s-" she started, but Daniels clamped a hand over her mouth to stop her from calling the guy something that would make sailors proud. Don and his team all raised their eyebrows, and fought smirks, at what she almost said.

"It's amazing how you've managed to live this long with that mouth," Watson puffed.

"Yeah, well it's amazing someone hasn't -" Jess started again after she removed Daniels hand, only for him to immediately clamp the other one over her mouth before she said too much.

"OK, I think we get the picture," Don said, eager to stop whatever confrontation the two were about to get in. "Daniels, you can go on and take her home, we'll call if we need anything else."

Daniels nodded and pulled Jess, who was still staring daggers at Watson, away.

"OK, you are gonna tell us what Scott was up to. We need to know who he was after, who he was in with, what was going on, everything," Don told Watson, who gave him an incredulous look.

"Absolutely not!" he said in disbelief.

"Either hand it over, or we can get a court order. Your pick," Don told him firmly. Watson huffed, but gave in.

"Fine, you'll have it later on this afternoon," he said bitterly.

xxxxx

"OK, here we go. Everything the DEA has on Scott's case," Colby said as he and David sat down a couple boxes on the table. Don and Megan came over to look at it too.

"Alright, well, apparently Watson doesn't want us snooping around in this stuff. He made it very clear we didn't need to know Scott was DEA because it had nothing to do with our case or that it would have any impact, which means..." Don started.

"That there's obviously something here he doesn't want us to know," Megan finished.

"Exactly. The question is what?" Don continued.

"Well, Scott's sister seems to know something, but she's not talking," David pointed out.

"Yeah, but is it something that involves our case or theirs?" Colby asked.

"Or both?" Megan added.

"Well, I called Charlie to see he could find some kind of connection in all of this," Don told them.

xxxxx

"Hey guys, you get anything yet?" Don asked when he entered the garage, where Charlie, Amita, and Larry were working.

"Nothing new so far," Amita answered.

"Sorry bro, though it does seem like it might have something to do with the case Scott was working on if that helps," Charlie told him. Don sighed.

"Yeah, we kinda figured that by Watson's attitude."

"If I may say, it seems like this Agent Watson might be hiding something," Larry said. They looked at him inquisitively. "What I mean is, why is there so much hostility between this agent and the young lady? And there must be a reason he doesn't want you delving into it, and why she won't tell you anything."

"Yeah, we just don't have the answers yet," Don replied. Larry nodded contemplatively.

"Well, it looks like Scott was investigating your victims," Amita spoke up. "It seems he knew quite a bit, and was gathering quite a bit of evidence. There's something here that seems interesting, but no specifics so we don't really know what it is."

"Why wouldn't he give specifics?" Charlie wondered as Don's cell phone began to ring.

"Good question," Don stated. "Eppes," he answered to the caller. "Yeah, OK, I'll be there in twenty." When he hung up he turned back to the group. "That was David, Scott was just taken to the hospital with multiple gunshot wounds." The professors looked genuinely shocked. "See if there's anything that could help us figure out why," Don told them, before leaving.

"Yeah, we'll call you if we get anything," Charlie told him.

"Thanks."

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**A/N: Well, I hope you liked that chapter. Reviews are appreciated! Update should be up soon.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: OK, here's the next chapter, enjoy! (by the way, I know I don't have a lot of Charlie and his math in here, but I don't know all that math stuff so my stories don't really include it. I will try to show that he does use it some though.)**

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Chapter 5

"OK, so what happened?" Don asked David when he got to the hospital.

"We don't know. We just got a call that a guy matching Scott's description was being brought in with multiple gunshot wounds," David informed him.

"So, do we have any idea who shot him?" David shook his head.

"Not yet."

"Well, we need to talk to Watson again, see if he has any ideas."

"Megan and Colby are already on it." Don nodded.

"OK, well, Charlie and them are working to see if they can find any connections. He said he'd call when they got anything."

"You think this has something to do with Scott's case?"

"Considering he was investigating the same guys that were executed, Watson doesn't want us snooping around, and now somebody tried to kill him, yeah I'd say it might have a lot to do with Scott's case," Don answered honestly. David nodded.

xxxxx

"Agent Eppes?" the doctor asked.

"Yeah. You the doctor working on Scott?" Don replied.

"Yes. We were able to remove most of the bullets, but he sustained some major blood loss. A couple hit some vital organs. H-"

"WHERE THE HELL IS MY BROTHER?" Jess asked Don and David, interrupting the doctor in a very loud voice.

"Calm down a little Jess," Daniels suggested, coming up behind her.

"Your brother was brought in with multiple gunshot wounds, and just got out of surgery," David told her. She rounded on the doctor.

"How is he?" she asked him, in a much calmer voice.

"Well, as I was telling the agents, your brother had some major blood loss, a couple of the bullets hit some vital organs...he's in a coma right now," the doctor told her as gently as possible. Jess closed her eyes and tried to regain control of her breathing.

"Can I see him?" she asked quietly. The doctor nodded.

"Sure. Just let me go get the bullets for them, and then I'll show you on back."

"Thanks," she told him. He gave a slight nod, and left.

"We're gonna find who did this," David assured her. Jess gave a small laugh, and half smiled.

"Did you think I was joking or something? Huh? You think I said it could cost him his life just for the fun of it? Well, guess what, I was being serious! And here's my proof," she spat.

"Do you have any idea who did it?" Don asked her calmly.

"Who I think did it, you already know," she answered cryptically. Before they were able to ask what she meant by that the doctor came back.

"OK, here are the bullets we were able to recover," he said, handing the jar to David.

"I'll get these to the lab, see if we can get any leads." Don nodded, and David left.

"You sure you wanna do this?" the doctor asked Jess, just to be sure. Her glare was his answer. "Alright, follow me then."

xxxxx

"Whoa..." Daniels muttered as they entered Scott's hospital room.

He was lying there with lots of tubes sticking out of him, lots of monitors hooked up to him, and was covered in bandages.

"There was a lot of damage," the doctor said solemnly.

Jess didn't say anything, she just walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"He can hear me right?" she asked the doctor.

"Yes, we believe he is aware of what's going on around him," the doctor answered. "Well, I'll just be outside. Come get me if you need anything."

"Thanks doc," Don told him.

"No problem."

"You okay kid?" Daniels asked Jess, who hadn't said anything else, just grabbed her brother's hand. She didn't answer him, so he took the hint. "We'll give you a few minutes," he told her, motioning for Don to follow him outside.

xxxxx

"You gonna tell us who would want Scott dead? Or are we gonna have to figure that out by ourselves too?" Megan asked Watson in an irritated tone.

"There is no need to be dramatic Agent Reeves," he said calmly. "But to answer your question, I have no idea who shot Scott. The list of people with motive is rather lengthy."

"Wanna give us a hint of where to look?" Colby asked sharply.

"I wouldn't know where to start," Watson answered simply.

xxxxx

"Hey, any change?" Megan asked as she caught up with Don, who'd just gotten some coffee.

"Nah, still out of it. What about you guys? Get anything from Watson or those bullets?"

"Watson didn't give us anything, claims he doesn't know anything that'd help." Don snorted. "Yeah, but the bullets came back, and guess what..."

"What?"

"They came from Scott's gun."

"They what?" Don asked, surprised.

"Yeah, apparently someone shot him with his own gun," Megan confirmed.

"This case just keeps getting more confusing," Don mused. Megan chuckled.

"Yeah, making it that much harder to figure out." Don nodded.

"Hey, there you guys are!" Charlie called, jogging over to them.

"Hey Charlie," Megan greeted.

"What's up? I thought you were gonna call when you found something."

"Well, I was, but this couldn't be explained over the telephone," Charlie told his brother.

"OK, so what do ya got?" Don inquired.

xxxxx

Jess was sitting there, watching her brother and all the monitors he was hooked up to. She slowly took everything in, and squeezed his hand.

"You're not gonna wake up, are ya bro?" she whispered. He gently squeezed her hand in response. She wiped her eyes quickly to stop tears from coming. "It's okay, I get it." He squeezed her hand a little harder, and she smiled. "Kyle, listen to me, OK? It's okay. I'll be fine. I don't like seeing you like this either. It's okay. You can let go now," she told him gently, resting her forehead against his. "Just do me a favor, and keep looking out for me OK?" When he squeezed her hand again, she smiled. "I know... I love you big brother." And after one last squeeze, she left the room.

When she got out in the hallway, Jess leaned against the wall beside the door, and just slid down, letting a few tears fall as she heard the monitors beep. The doctor and a few nurses ran into the room, but she knew her brother was already gone. She wiped away the tears when she saw Don and Megan approaching.

"What happened?" Don asked as he and Megan made their way over. The doctor had come out of the room.

"He's dead," the doctor told them quietly. And after a quick attempt at a reassuring smile to Jess he left.

"Are you okay?" Megan asked the teenager softly.

"Just peachy," she answered sarcastically, getting up and walking away. Don and Megan shared a quick, helpless glance at each other.

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**A/N: Well, hope you liked that chapter! Reviews are appreciated! Update should be up soon.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: OK, here's the next chapter, enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 6

"Figured you'd come here," Daniels said as he stood by the tree Jess was sitting under.

"What do you want?" she asked bluntly.

"Just to see how you're doing."

"Well, I'm fine so you can go now," she told him, still just staring out at the rest of the park.

"What, and let you do something stupid, uh-uh, no way," he said lightly, but serious.

"I wasn't gonna do anything stupid," she replied defensively. Daniels chuckled.

"Yeah, maybe not intentionally, but when you get emotionally involved in something you don't always make the best decisions," he told her honestly.

"Whatever," she sighed. He took a deep breath.

"You know what happens now don't you?" he asked, a little hesitantly.

"Yeah, I know," she nodded somberly.

xxxxx

"So Watson sets Scott up for the fall, but why?" David asked.

"A boat load of money," Don told him simply. "Charlie found about three offshore accounts filled with money. Unfortunately, we don't have enough to prove that he's the one who killed Scott and the drug dealers."

"The drug dealers? I thought he only killed Scott?" Colby questioned.

"Ballistics came back, it was Scott's gun that killed the dealers," Megan replied. "So..."

"Whoever killed the dealers killed Scott," Colby finished.

"Exactly," Don stated.

"Yeah, but why?" David wondered. "If Scott had evidence against Watson, why didn't he use it?"

"Maybe he never got the chance," Megan mused. They all looked at her with curiosity.

"What do you mean?" Don inquired.

"What I mean is that maybe Watson killed Scott so he wouldn't use the evidence he had against him."

"But if so, where's the evidence now?" Colby asked.

xxxxx

"You sure about this?" Daniels asked Jess as they entered the apartment.

"Look, I'm gonna have to do it sooner or later, why not sooner?"

"Fine, good point."

Jess started packing up a duffle bag, and Daniels was looking around at the pictures.

"You two were inseparable," he mumbled under his breath, but Jess heard it.

"Who?" she asked, curious, and came over to see what he was looking at. "Oh," was all she said when she saw it was the picture of her and Kyle that was taken three months earlier.

"You know I wish there was some other way, right?" Daniels asked her sincerely. She nodded.

"Yeah, I know. But it's not your fault I got idiots for parents," she said indifferently, trying to make light of the conversation.

"You don't know your dad was an idiot," he commented, knowing full well not to say anything about her mother. Jess gave him a look.

"Anyone that gets someone pregnant off a one night stand is an idiot," she stated. Daniels rolled his eyes at her.

"You've never met him, so stop thinking he's as bad as your mom," he told her firmly.

"Just forget it Mac, it doesn't matter anyway," she said in a tone that said to drop it, which he did.

They sat the next few minutes in silence while Jess finished packing up a few more things. She stopped when she noticed the laptop.

"What is it?" Daniels asked, wondering why she was just standing there.

"Just a hunch," she told him as she pulled out her cell phone.

"What are you doing?" Now he was beyond curious.

"Thinking like my brother," she said as she pulled something out of the phone. "He always kept all the information and stuff on one of those mini SD chips in his phone. But the feds didn't find it did they?"

"No. Why?"

"Because maybe it wasn't there to begin with," she explained.

"OK, you lost me," he admitted. Jess smiled.

"Look, if you knew someone was after you would you put what they were after where they could get it?"

"Probably not."

"Exactly, neither would my brother," she told him, holding up a tiny chip. Daniels got it now.

"He put it in your phone instead," he said slowly, still processing how she was able to put that all together.

"Yep, because he knew Watson couldn't get to me," she informed him as she put the chip in the laptop.

"OK, what are you doing now?" he questioned as she pulled up the files on the card.

"I wanna know what got my brother killed," she told him simply. He shook his head, but with a small smile on his face.

They both stopped for a second as they watched the video play. Their jaws dropped when they realized what they were seeing.

"Whoa..." they both muttered when it finished.

* * *

**A/N: Well, hope you liked that chapter! Reviews are appreciated! Update should be up soon.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Here's the next chapter, enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 7

"So how can we prove all this without the evidence Scott had?" David asked. It was a question they were all wondering, but didn't know the answer to. They'd been trying to find it for an hour.

"What if you had it?" Jess asked from the back of the room. They all turned to stare at her and Daniels, who were standing in the doorway.

"What are you talking about?" Colby inquired.

"You didn't find a mini SD card in my brother's phone did you?"

"No, but what's that got to do with anything?" Don questioned. Jess smirked.

"Because that's where he kept all his evidence," she answered simply. "Put it in the place people least expect," she explained.

"But if it's gone, then Watson must have found it," Megan said. Jess let out a big breath and rolled her eyes.

"Sheesh, will you guys shut up for two seconds?" she exhaled. They all looked taken aback. "Look, my brother wasn't stupid. He knew Watson was gonna come after him, so he put the evidence where Watson wouldn't be able to get to it," she told them impatiently.

"Where?" David asked.

"In my phone," she replied. They stared at her until she continued. "Kyle knew Watson couldn't get to me, so he knew it would be safe with me. When I realized Kyle knew what Watson was up to I knew he wouldn't have been stupid enough to put the evidence where Watson could get it. And when I checked my phone it was there. Look!" she ordered, pulling out her laptop and hitting play.

xxxxx

"So why'd you kill them? Was it just for the money?" Don asked Watson, who was sitting there being eerily composed.

"I honestly don't know what you're talking about," he replied.

"Oh yeah, what about the three million dollars in offshore bank accounts?" Megan asked, laying the bank records on the table.

"I've never seen these before," Watson told her coolly, pushing the papers back.

"What about the dealers you executed in cold blood?" she continued. He just shrugged.

"Don't know what you're going on about," he repeated.

"Yeah? Maybe this will refresh your memory," Don said, turning the TV on and pressing play.

The video showed Watson calmly shooting all the men in the head. While it was playing Don and Megan noticed his eyes go wide at the footage.

"What, didn't know Scott was filming it?" Megan asked smugly.

"I- uh- Wh- I-" Watson stuttered, but couldn't form words and stopped trying.

"Oh, and let's not forget the security tape from the store parking lot where you gunned down Scott," Don said, hitting play again. "That's your car isn't it?" he questioned, pointing to the car on the screen. "And that's you here, right?" Don continued, pointing to the blown up image of Watson in his car.

Watson just sat there in silence, unable to say or deny anything.

xxxxx

"So what happens to her now?" Don asked Daniels, who was watching Jess in the bullpen with Megan and Colby.

"Well, she goes in front of the judge next week, he'll decide what to do from there, but most likely she'll end up in another group home," he replied somberly. Don nodded slowly. "But she does turn eighteen in a few months, so after that it'll be up to her."

"She's a smart kid," Don commented.

"Yeah, she is," Daniels agreed. "Sometimes maybe a little too smart," he added. Don chuckled.

"Yeah."

Daniels looked at Don thoughtfully for a moment before saying something else. Don was getting some papers together.

"Can I ask you something?" Daniels asked.

"Sure."

"You remember when we were talking in the hospital?"

"Yeah," Don replied slowly, unsure where this was headed, they'd just talked about their respective histories.

"Mind if I make a suggestion?"

"OK, but why do I get the feeling there's more to this than light conversation?" Daniels chuckled.

"Because there is," he told him honestly. "I got an idea, and now I'm not so sure if it's right or not, it's just a hunch, but I wanted to check it out just in case..." he started slowly.

"And you wanted my help in checking it out?" Don guessed.

"Basically."

"Why not," Don agreed. Daniels smiled.

"Great, so what I was wanting to do is..."

xxxxx

"This is crazy," Don mumbled as he waited for the results with Daniels. "I can't believe I let you talk me into doing this!"

"Oh come on, you can't tell me you weren't a little bit curious when I suggested it," Daniels retorted. Don rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I was curious, but this is insane! There's no way it's possible, let alone true!" he continued ranting. This time Daniels rolled his eyes.

"Look, if it wasn't possible, you wouldn't have agreed to see if it was true or not," he stated.

"What if it is?" Don sighed. Daniels sat down by him.

"Well, that part would be up to you, not me, though I'd help if you asked," he told him sincerely. Don looked him in the eyes.

"This is crazy," he stated simply before putting his head in his hands again. Daniels chuckled.

"Yeah, probably," he agreed.

"Agent Eppes?" a lab tech asked when she entered the room.

"Yeah?" Don replied, standing up.

"I got the results you wanted," she told him, handing him a piece of paper.

"Thanks," he replied. She nodded and left. Don took a deep breath and handed it to Daniels. "Here ya go. See if your hunch is right."

Daniels took the paper, and looked over it carefully. He didn't show any readable emotions as he slowly nodded and handed the paper back to Don, who sighed but took it anyway.

* * *

**A/N: Well, hope you like this chapter! Reviews are appreciated! Update should be up soon.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: OK, here's the next chapter. I hope you like it! Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 8

"Ah Miss Zamora," the judge started, looking at Jess. "I wish I could say it was good to see you, but under the circumstances..."

"I got it," she assured him. He smiled at her straightforwardness.

"Well, then let's get on with it, shall we? Now, I was sorry to hear about your brother, but make no mistake I am aware of the factors surrounding his death." If Jess had been one to be easily intimidated she would have shrunk under the judges glare, but since she isn't she just stared back. "While I am glad things worked out, I do not want you involved in such things again, unless directed. Am I understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Now, I am aware that with no guardian your living situation needs to be addressed. I was told that arrangements have been made, is that correct Mr. Daniels?" the judge asked.

"Yes, your honor. I made some arrangements and the social worker approved," Daniels informed the judge.

"Good. Well, I trust your judgement, but I would still like a regular update to make sure everything is going smoothly."

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Now, Miss Zamora," the judge continued, turning back to Jess. "I expect you to make the most of this situation. You may age out of the system in a matter of a few months, but I do not want to see you back here. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir," Jess agreed.

"Good. Now, I wish you the best of luck."

"Thanks."

xxxxx

"You ready?" Daniels asked Jess as they reached his car.

"Yeah, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?" he replied.

"What arrangements did you make exactly?" she inquired hesitantly as she threw her duffle bag in the back seat. Daniels sighed.

"I was gonna wait, hoping it might make this easier, but I guess I have to do this now," he started reluctantly, which wasn't very reassuring to Jess. "I found your father," he told her bluntly. Jess' eyes went wide open, and her draw dropped.

"You...WHAT?" she stuttered incredulously, glaring at him.

"I found your father," Daniels repeated. Jess started opening and closing her mouth, but not saying anything. Her breathing increased. "Look, Jess, I talked to him. He didn't know about you. He's agreed to take custody of you, at least for these last few months." She turned away from him, and he walked over to stand in front of her. "Look kid, I think this will be good for you." At her snort, he continued. "Well, it's better than a group home isn't it?" he challenged. She rolled her eyes, but begrudgingly nodded.

"Yeah, I guess, but still-"

"But still nothing," he interrupted firmly. "Just do what the judge suggested and make the most of it."

"This is crazy," she sighed, shaking her head. Daniels couldn't help but laugh.

"Come on," he said, nudging her to get in the car.

xxxxx

"Hey, so where's your brother?" Alan asked Charlie as he was finishing grilling the burgers.

"He said he'd be here soon, but I'm -" Charlie started, but was interrupted by the door opening.

"I'm right here," Don said as he came outside.

"Hey, what was the hold up?" Alan questioned.

"Phone call," he replied. "Hey, you don't mind if we have an extra person do you?"

"Not at all," Alan assured him. "There's way too much food here anyway."

"Yeah, Amita should be here in a few minutes too," Charlie told him. Don nodded, and helped them finish setting up.

xxxxx

"Where are we? Suburbia hell?" Jess joked as they pulled up to a house. Daniels rolled his eyes at her.

"No, but don't worry he doesn't live here, it's his brother's house I think. Now just be nice. I know that's a difficult concept for you, but try," he told her exasperatedly.

"Fine," she grumbled. "So, who is he?" she asked quietly. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he turned the car off.

"Um...I still say it'd be better if you wait and see." Jess furrowed her brows in confusion. "Well, I think you might be more receptive, let's put it that way."

"Mac, what the hell is going on? You're being way more cryptic and confusing than usual," she drawled.

"Just come on," he told her, and got out of the car.

She exhaled in annoyance, but followed him anyway. She grabbed her duffle bag out of the back and went up the porch as he rang the doorbell.

"We made it," Daniels sighed when the person opened the door. He motioned for Jess to follow him when the person moved aside to let them in.

She took a deep breath, and reluctantly went in behind Daniels. Her eyes went wide open when she saw who had answered the door and let them in. She looked to Daniels, who just smiled uncomfortably.

"Don't tell me..." she stuttered.

"Yeah, he's your father," Daniel told her. Now Jess' jaw dropped.

"Bullshit!" When Daniels shook his head, she realized he was joking. "This is crazy! It's not possible!" Daniels started laughing again. "What?" she snapped.

"That's what I said," Don told her. Jess rolled her eyes, and turned back to Daniels.

"Prove it." Daniels shrugged, and pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to her.

"This is the DNA test," he informed her as she started looking at the piece of paper. "I had a hunch, and although he thought I was crazy or something," he started, motioning to Don.

"You are," Jess told him.

"Anyway," Daniels continued, sending her a look telling her to shut up and let him finish. "I ran your DNA against his, and it was a match. He's your father, Jess."

* * *

**A/N: Well, I hope you liked that chapter. And if you hate me for that little revelation I'm sorry, but that's the way I wanted it to be, and now things should get interesting in the plot. Well, I hope you liked it anyway! Reviews are appreciated! I do accept criticism as well, just don't be rude please. Update should hopefully be up soon.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: OK, here's the next chapter. I know it's a little shorter, but it would have been extremely long if I hadn't cut it off where I did. The next one won't be as short though. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 9

Jess swallowed hard as she reread the results for the third time. She slowly looked at Don, who seemed as nervous as she felt. She took a deep breath, and looked at Daniels.

"You're serious?" It was more of a statement than a question, but he nodded anyway.

"This is why I didn't tell you straight away. I knew you'd freak out, and not believe me. So, here we are, and it's too late to turn back now," he told her, a tad smug on that last part. Jess glared at him. "Well, now I'm gonna go," he told them. "And I'll see you in a couple of days," he added to Jess. "Good luck," he mouthed to Don.

"W-" Before Jess could get out a single word, Daniels was out the door. "Little son of a bitch," she cursed under her breath.

Neither Jess nor Don said anything for a few minutes. They just stood there looking at each other, and the ground, in awkward silence.

"So..." Don started hesitantly. "You hungry?" At her bewildered expression he elaborated. "My dad grilled burgers. Daniels didn't tell me what day you were coming until...well, today. Otherwise, I wouldn't make you deal with them yet." He gave her a small smile, trying to lighten the mood.

"Your family?" she asked, wondering who he meant. He nodded. "Have you even told them..." She couldn't finish the sentence, she was still in shock about it. Don was too, though.

"About you?" he guessed. She nodded, and he shook his head. "Not yet," he sighed, knowing they probably weren't going to take it too well either. Jess chuckled. "What?"

"You're an FBI agent and you're too scared to tell your family you just found out you have a seventeen year old kid." Don chuckled too.

"More like just reluctant."

"Same difference."

"OK smart ass, you hungry or not?" he asked, changing the subject back. Yet he was inwardly glad things weren't as awkward, for now.

"Sure, why not," she sighed, taking a deep breath. He nodded, and motioned for her to follow him.

xxxxx

"Wonder what's taking so long?" Charlie wondered since Don had gone to get the door about ten minutes ago.

"I dunno," Alan answered.

"Did he say who the extra person was?" Amita asked. Alan and Charlie both shook their heads.

They didn't have to wonder for long because a couple minutes later Don and Jess came out back to join them. Alan and Charlie were wearing puzzled expressions, both curious as to who this teenage girl was. Amita, though, was wondering what seemed so familiar about her.

"Hey guys, this is Jess. Jess, this is my dad Alan, my brother Charlie, and his girlfriend Amita," Don introduced.

"Hi," Jess said, a little tensely.

Alan and Charlie still seemed very confused, but Amita smiled warmly and shook Jess' hand.

"It's nice to meet you," Amita told her sincerely.

"Thanks, you too," Jess replied, a little shocked by her friendliness.

"Hi," Charlie greeted nervously, after Amita elbowed him in the ribs. Jess smiled, and did a very good job of hiding her amusement.

"And...uh...who is she exactly?" Alan asked his eldest, after finally finding his voice. Jess had to bite her lip to hide her smirk, and Don shifted uncomfortably. This only caused more curiosity for Alan, Charlie, and Amita.

"Well, Jess is..." Don was trying to figure out how to ease the blow. "She's my daughter," he told them bluntly, unable to find a way to ease into it.

Alan and Charlie's eyes widened so much they looked like they might pop out of their sockets. Amita just raised her eyebrows, but she could see the resemblance. Don took a deep breath in preparation for what they were about to say, while Jess had to hold her breath to keep from laughing at their reactions.

"Your WHAT?" Alan asked, raising his voice a little.

"I'm sorry, I think I heard you wrong," Charlie stuttered.

"No, you didn't hear me wrong Charlie. She's my daughter," Don repeated.

"Well, who's her mother?" Alan asked incredulously. Don had to take another deep breath. Jess was now biting down on both lips, and about to bust from holding in her laughter.

"Rachel," Don answered. Alan rolled his eyes.

"Rachel who?" he demanded.

"You don't know her, dad," Don told him. Jess was unable to hide her amusement at that, and let out a snicker. Don sighed, knowing what was coming next. Alan looked over at the girl who was apparently his granddaughter.

"What's so funny?" he asked her. Jess just smiled.

"Nothing dad, it's not important," Don told him, eager to avoid this particular conversation. Alan sent a pointed look toward his older son, and motioned towards the kitchen.

"We need to talk," he said coolly, and started heading inside. Don sighed, but started to follow.

"I'll be right back," he told Jess.

After they were inside Jess turned to Charlie, who seemed to be studying her. He stopped when he noticed her looking at him though.

"So, where's the best place to eavesdrop?" she asked him.

Charlie looked surprised for a moment, but then thought about it. He wanted to hear too, and remembered a spot, so he motioned for her to follow him. Amita shook her head at them, but still smiled and followed.

* * *

**A/N: Well, I hope you liked that chapter. And yes, Don and Alan's conversation will start off the next chapter. Don't worry I won't leave ya hanging too long. Reviews are appreciated! Update should be up pretty soon.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: OK, here's the next chapter. I know it's a little longer, sorry, but I guess it kinda makes up for the last one being shorter. Well, hope you like it. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 10

Don had followed his father into the kitchen, but neither had said anything yet. Alan was pacing back and forth, while Don stood there silently, waiting for his father to say something. Neither were aware that Jess, Charlie, and Amita were standing outside the door to hear what they were saying, or rather what they were getting ready to say.

Alan finally stopped pacing, and looked Don in the eyes.

"How old is she?" he asked quietly.

"Seventeen, almost eighteen." Alan sighed.

"When did you find out?"

"About a week ago." Alan raised his eyebrows at that.

"A week? You've known you have a daughter for a week, and you didn't tell us?" he asked incredulously.

"If it makes you feel any better, she didn't know I was her father until tonight," Don told him honestly. At Alan's questioning look Don added, "Her probation officer's idea, not mine."

"'Probation officer'?" Alan repeated, unsure if he had heard correctly. Don took a deep breath.

"Yes."

"And why does she have a probation officer?" Alan inquired. Don shrugged slightly.

"It's kind of a long story, and I don't really know the whole thing," he answered as truthfully as he could.

"Well, wanna give me the cliff notes version?" Alan suggested, a little annoyed.

"Well, it's kinda complicated," Don sighed.

"What aren't you telling me?" Alan asked him. Seeing his son's flustered expression he tried a different approach. "How did you find out?" Don's head shot up, he wasn't prepared for that one.

"Uh...well..." Don wasn't quite sure how to tell him how she had been involved in his recent case. He rubbed the back of his neck, while Alan just stared at him, waiting for an answer. "Well, her probation officer seemed to have a hunch that I was her father after something I said, or something else, I don't really know what, and he wanted to run a DNA test," Don explained, deciding to start at the end.

"And how did you meet her probation officer?" Alan continued pushing, trying to get a straight answer.

"Look, what does it really matter?" Don asked in a frustrated tone.

"It matters," Alan told him firmly. Don sighed again.

"Fine, I met her when she was brought in for questioning on this last case."

"Why was she brought in for questioning?" Alan asked in a worried tone.

"Dad, come on..."

"No, Donnie. If you're gonna take on a seventeen year old girl, especially one that has apparently been in some trouble, then I want to know about it!"

"Look, I can't tell you all about the case. And I already told you, I don't know the whole story. Tonight's the first time I've seen her since I found out she was my kid, give me a break here!" Don snapped.

"Fine," Alan sighed, deciding to press that subject some other time. "Who's this Rachel woman? How long did you two go out?" Don froze.

"Uh...well, we...uh..." he was stammering. Alan was looking at him expectantly, waiting for Don to answer. "We didn't exactly date," Don told him hesitantly.

"What do you mean you 'didn't exactly date'?"

"Well, we...uh...it was kind of just...uh...well..." Don let out an flustered breath. "It was a one night stand," he told his father honestly. He stood there, inwardly cringing, waiting for his father to react. Alan just stared at his son incredulously.

"You got a woman pregnant after a one night stand?"

"Apparently."

Alan shook his head disapprovingly, but finally just throwing his arms up in surrender.

"Fine, look we'll continue this some other time. Let's get back out there."

Jess, Charlie, and Amita didn't hear anything else because they rushed back outside so Don and Alan wouldn't know they'd been eavesdropping.

"So, you're Agent Scott's sister?" Charlie asked, connecting the dots from what he knew about Don's last case.

"Yeah," Jess confirmed.

"I knew you seemed familiar," Amita told her. "Though, you look a little like Don too, so that might have something to do with it as well."

"I wh- N-" Jess started, getting ready to deny that last comment. But she was interrupted when Don and Alan came back outside.

"Hey, we're back."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Alan added.

"No problem," Amita assured them. Alan gave her a small smile, which she returned.

"So, hope everyone's hungry cause the burgers are ready," Charlie announced, setting them on the table.

"Oh, Jess, you eat meat don't you?" Alan asked, suddenly a little nervous. Jess gave a small, forced, smile.

"Absolutely."

"Good."

"Hey, I was gonna go get a soda, you want one?" Amita asked Jess, standing to go inside.

"Sure, thanks," Jess replied nervously.

The dinner was a little awkward. Everyone seemed to be on edge, but no one more so than Don or Jess. They kept glancing at each other nervously, and neither said much the whole time.

xxxxx

Neither Don nor Jess had said much to each other. When they got to Don's apartment he gave her a tour, and showed her the room she'd be using. It was late, and Jess had almost finished unpacking when Don knocked on the wall.

"The door's open so you don't have to knock," she told him, not looking up from rummaging around in her backpack.

"Just a habit." Jess smiled.

"If it's not safe, I'll shut the door," she teased. Don rolled his eyes.

"Ha ha. But thanks." Jess just shook her head. Don sighed. "Look, I don't really know what I'm supposed to do here," he admitted. She looked up at him.

"Neither do I," she told him.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Would it stop you if I said no?"

"Probably not."

"Then go ahead and ask."

"How much did you guys hear tonight?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Tonight, before dinner, when me and dad were in the kitchen, you guys were eavesdropping. How much did you guys hear?" Jess looked at him, and smirked.

"Everything. How'd you know we were eavesdropping?" Don smiled.

"Because I was the one who told Charlie about that spot." Jess chuckled, and muttered something that sounded like 'figures'.

"So can I ask you a question?" Jess asked. "Well, a couple actually," she amended.

"Sure."

"What am I supposed to call you?" she asked, a little nervously.

"Oh...uh...huh. Hadn't really thought about that," Don admitted. "Don's fine."

"OK," she nodded.

"What was the second?" he asked, a little curious. Jess hesitated for a second.

"Do you even remember my mom?" she asked quietly. Don took a deep breath.

"Yeah, actually, I do," he answered honestly.

"Oh." Don started to open his mouth to say something, but Jess spoke first. "Don't worry about it. I was just curious." Seeing he was about to say something again she added, "It's fine. Really."

"OK," Don reluctantly agreed. "Well, I guess I'll see you in the morning."

"OK."

"Night."

"Night."

* * *

**A/N: Well, I hope you liked that chapter! Reviews are appreciated! I hope to have an update up pretty soon.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: OK, here's the next chapter. I hope you like it! Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 11

It had been a couple days since Jess had moved in with Don. They hadn't talked that much, and frankly neither knew what to say.

When Don got to work he noticed Megan sitting on her desk, smiling at him. He sighed, knowing she wanted to say something.

"Whatever you wanna say, just say it," he told her. She gave a slight chuckle.

"Fine. So...how are things going with Jess?" Don shrugged slightly as he sat down.

"I'm not really sure actually," he answered honestly.

"Still weird?" she guessed.

"Yeah."

"It'll take time." Don nodded. "So, how did Alan and Charlie take the news?" Don gave her a look. "That bad?" He nodded again. Megan gave a slight smile. "Larry said Charlie was kinda freaking out or something, but wouldn't say about what. I figured it was this."

"Yeah, he took it a lot better than dad did though."

"How did Alan take it?"

"Not good," he replied, hoping she'd let it drop there. She didn't.

"What'd he say?"

"He was mad, angry I didn't tell him sooner, that her mother was just a one night stand, that I met her on a case. Basically, he was mad about the whole thing," he sighed. Megan nodded knowingly.

"Well, it's gotta be hard on him to." Don gave a slight shrug and nod. "But you guys will figure things out, you usually do. Besides, right now I think you should just concentrate on talking to Jess." Don nodded in agreement, but looked at her.

"I don't know what to say," he admitted. "How am I supposed to just start up a conversation with her when everything just feels so..."

"Awkward?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I'm not sure. You just start talking, things should figure themselves out from there," she advised.

"What if she won't talk to me?" Megan smiled.

"Well, in that case play her game." A confused look covered Don's face. "What I mean is, Colby was right, she's more stubborn than you are." Don frowned, but Megan continued. "Just keep trying. You can get her to talk to you if you just don't give up." Don slowly nodded. "Something tells me that a lot of people just stopped trying to get through the walls she's built up to protect herself. Now she thinks that if she just doesn't play along then everyone will just leave her alone. She probably thinks you'll be the same way, but you can prove her wrong, you just have to try."

"How did you get so smart?" he asked, half-joking half-in-awe.

"Ha ha," she drawled, smacking him on the arm with a folder. He smiled.

"Seriously though...thanks Megan," he told her sincerely.

"Anytime."

xxxxx

Don had to stay late to finish up some paper work, and didn't get back to the apartment till about two in the morning. He walked in the kitchen, and Jess was sitting at the counter eating a bowl of cereal.

"Hey, what are you doing up?" he asked her as he grabbed a beer out of the fridge.

"Couldn't sleep," she shrugged, taking another bite of cereal. Don nodded, and stood there for a second, inwardly debating.

"Mind if I join you?"

"Whatever."

Don grabbed a bowl, and she passed him the cereal and milk. They sat there in silence for a few minutes before Don finally broke it.

"So, why couldn't you sleep?" Jess shrugged.

"Dunno. Never have slept much. Probably why I fall asleep during history class." Don laughed.

"Yeah, history's always tough to stay awake through. For me it was always math though." Jess looked at him funnily.

"Isn't your brother like a math genius or something though?"

"Yeah, hence why I fell asleep. I could always get Charlie to do my homework for me." They both smiled, and Jess shook her head.

"So what exactly are you doing?" she asked him tensely.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, were you just hungry for cereal or something?" she elaborated, gesturing to their bowls, that were now in the sink.

"Oh. I dunno, I guess," he mumbled. Jess furrowed her brows.

"OK, so what's the real reason?" she questioned, knowing there was something besides late night snacks going on. Don sighed.

"I guess I just wanted to have a conversation," he admitted.

"Why?" she asked, shaking her head in confusion.

"What is it a crime to wanna have a conversation to get to know my daughter?" he retorted, noticing her visibly wince slightly at the word daughter.

"Look, just because we're stuck with each other for the next couple months doesn't mean that we have to have to get to know each other," she shot back, getting up and going back to her room.

"Well, that went well," Don sighed sarcastically. He leaned is elbows against the table and put his head in his hands. He knew Megan was right, Jess wasn't gonna make this easy at all.

xxxxx

"Yeah, Eppes?" Don answered to the caller. "She what?!...Yeah OK, Thanks."

"What was that about?" David asked him as he, Megan, and Colby came over.

"That was Jess' school. Apparently she skipped out after lunch," Don informed them. David and Colby shared an apprehensive look, that Don caught. "What?"

"Well..." David started, but looked to Colby to finish.

"When we went through her locker during that last case..." Colby started. Don motioned for him to continue. "She had a backpack full of clothes."

"Dammit," Don sighed. Megan looked at him.

"You have any idea where she'd go?" she asked. Don nodded.

"Yeah, I've got a pretty good idea."

* * *

**A/N: Well, I hope you liked that chapter! Reviews are appreciated! If you have any suggestions for their next case, let me know. (Don't worry I'll give you credit.) Update should be up pretty soon.**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: OK, here's the next chapter. Hope you like it. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 12

Jess was reading a book on the bench, and listening to her iPod, while she waited for the train. Her head immediately shot up when someone yanked her headphones out of her ears. Before she started cussing them out she noticed it was Don and just huffed instead. They stared at each other for a few minutes.

"Not gonna say anything?" he asked in an annoyed tone. Jess just shrugged. "Fine, I'll start. What the hell is going through your head, huh? You wanna go back to jail, is that it? Cause that's what's gonna happen if you get on that train." Jess looked unfazed, and went back to reading her book. Don grabbed it out of her hands. "Hey! I'm talking to you here."

"Well, I'm not listening," she said in an equally annoyed tone, taking her book back, but putting it in her backpack.

"Well, you need to start," he told her firmly. Jess glared at him. "You were just gonna leave and not say anything, is that it?"

"That's it," she replied nonchalantly. Don shook his head, and ran his hand through his hair, taking a calming breath as he did so.

"Seriously, are you trying to get thrown back in jail or something? That's sure what it seems like," he sighed, lowering his voice back down to a normal level.

"No, but it's gonna happen sooner or later either way," she replied emotionlessly. Don stared at her in disbelief.

"You really believe that, don't you?" he asked her incredulously. She looked him in the eyes.

"I'm the screw up, OK? It's inevitable," she told him solemnly.

"That's crap, and you know it!" Jess chuckled.

"Is it? Have you even seen my record? I'm. A. Screw up," she drawled.

"The only thing you're screwing up is your chances," Don retorted. "You get a chance to do better, you do, and then you decide to what, take off? You're throwing a way your chance, and why, because your scared?"

"Don't talk about me like you know me," she told him coldly. "Because you don't."

"You won't let me!" he snapped. "You push me away every chance you get. How am I supposed to know you if you won't let me try?" he challenged.

"YOU AREN'T!" she blurted out, catching Don off guard.

"What are you talking about?" He was beyond confused. Jess closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath.

"You aren't supposed to know me...because you aren't supposed to exist," she told him quietly. Don had a very bewildered look on his face.

"What do you mean I'm not 'supposed to exist'?" Jess shook her head, and started to walk away, but Don grabbed her arm and stopped her. "Jess, answer me. What are you talking about?" She swallowed hard.

"I'm not supposed to have a dad." Don furrowed his brows, he wasn't following. "You were always just some guy she met in a bar. I didn't even know your name. I was never gonna meet you, or get to know you. You were never gonna be in my life, and now all of a sudden I'm living with you!" she admitted sorrowfully.

"Jess..." he started quietly.

"NO," she interrupted. "No, it's okay. I was fine with it. That was it, that was my life. I was okay with that, it was easier to just think that you never existed."

"Yeah, but -" He sighed frustratedly. "Why take off? I'm not going anywhere," he assured her.

"I don't do families," she told him.

"What?" He was shaking his head in confusion.

"The only family I've ever had is my brother. I don't know anything else," she explained. "It was always just me and Kyle. Kyle was always the one who took care of me, the one I could go to with my problems, even if he wasn't there I could call him and he'd always answer. My mother's a junkie, and you were just some unknown guy. It's not like you, you had your whole family. All I had was Kyle, and now he's dead. I don't know how to do families, ask any of my foster families. I've never had anyone but Kyle." Don took a deep breath.

"Come here," he told her, dragging her over to the bench and sitting down. When she sat down she hugged her knees close to her chest. "Look, Jess, no one said this was gonna be easy. I get it must really suck right now, I don't know what I'd do if something happened to Charlie. The thing is, I'm trying, OK? I'll be honest, I don't know how to be a dad. Hell, I've barely got the son thing down. I don't know what I'm doing here, but I'm doing the best I can. I know this is weird, but if you give me a chance we can both get to know each other a little better. I'm not saying things are gonna be smooth sailing, but it wouldn't hurt to try would it?" She looked at him, seemingly considering it for a second. Jess closed her eyes and took a deep breath before looking back.

"Just don't lie to me," she said quietly. Don smiled.

"If you don't lie to me," he countered, holding out his hand. Jess smiled.

"Deal," she agreed, shaking his hand.

"Come on," he said as he stood up and pulled her to her feet.

Jess grabbed her backpack, and they had started walking to the SUV when she turned to Don.

"Hey, I have a question."

"Shoot," he replied.

"How did you know I'd be here?"

"Most obvious place is the place people least expect you to be." Jess smiled.

"Smart ass." Don chuckled.

"I guess you had to get it from somewhere," he mused. "So, since you asked me something I guess I get to ask you something." Jess rolled her eyes.

"Fine."

"Where were you gonna go anyway?"

"San Diego."

"'San Diego'?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"I know a guy who moved down there about a year ago." Don raised his eyebrows.

"Boyfriend?" he asked cheekily.

"Ha ha, but no," she replied flatly. "Besides I'm not gonna tell you about any of my boyfriends. You wouldn't tell me about any of your girlfriends would you?" she retorted.

"Good point," he agreed.

* * *

**A/N: So there it is. I hope you liked that chapter! Reviews are appreciated! And once again, I don't mind criticism as long as you're not overly rude. I might even use suggestions if you have them (and give you credit of course). Well, anyway, there will be another case starting in the next chapter, but it won't be as in depth as the last one. Update will hopefully be up soon.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hey, sorry it took me so long to update. I got distracted with other stuff, and caught up in another story. Sorry! Well, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 13

"So the only thing that was stolen was some antiques?" Colby inquired, a little confused about their case.

"Yeah, but apparently they were really valuable, enough to kill seven guards in total," Megan told him.

"Wait...Seven? I thought there were only three on duty last night?" David asked.

"This was the second robbery. There were four guards killed at the warehouse a couple weeks ago," Don informed them.

"And last night they hit the gallery," Megan added.

"So, what's so special about these antiques?" Colby asked.

"They're valuable, worth millions," Megan told him.

"So are the robbers gonna sell 'em or what?" David asked.

"We're having Charlie and them do a trace, apparently since these antiques are rare it'll be easy to narrow down possible buyers."

xxxxx

"Hey, David and Colby went to go see what Charlie and Amita had found," Megan told Don as she sat down in the chair across from him in the break room.

"OK," he nodded.

"So I take it you talked to Jess?" Don looked up from his coffee.

"What makes you say that?" he asked. Megan smirked.

"You seem more at ease with it."

"Yeah, well, she told me why she doesn't wanna be around me, if that counts," he said, sounding tired.

"And?" she pushed, wanting him to explain.

"It's complicated." Megan shook her head.

"So you're not gonna tell me?" she sighed. Don smirked, and shook his head.

"Nope."

"Fine," she gave in. "What about Charlie and Alan? I know you talked to Charlie to ask him for help on the case, but what about other stuff? Have you talked to him about the situation with Jess? Or your dad for that matter?" she inquired. Don sighed exasperatedly, knowing he was gonna have to give her something.

"No. I haven't talked to either of them about Jess," he admitted. Megan gave him a look.

"It's been over a week, and you still haven't talked to them?" she asked incredulously.

"It's not that easy," he told her. Megan sighed.

"No, but you need to! How are you guys supposed to figure things out if you won't even talk to each other?" she challenged. Don looked her in the eyes.

"I will," he promised. She nodded, then all of a sudden smiled victoriously.

"Well, here's your chance," she said, a tad smug, pointing out the window to Alan, who was walking over. Don glared at her as she got up and left.

"Hey," Alan said tensely when he entered the break room.

"Hey," Don replied, though not as tense.

"Have some time?" Alan inquired, trying to sound casual, but sounding nervous instead. Don took a breath, and looked at his watch, then back at his father.

"Yeah, I got time."

"Good, can we take a walk or something?"

"Sure."

xxxxx

When they got about a block away from the office Alan turned to Don.

"Look, I wanted to talk to you about this whole situation with your....daughter," he started, stumbling on the word daughter. Don took a deep breath.

"We should talk," he agreed. Alan looked at him, a little surprise could been seen on his face. Don motioned towards an empty bench and they both sat down. "So what did you wanna talk about?" Don asked.

"I know I wasn't very supportive when you first told me," Alan started. Don nodded. "But I was, still am, concerned."

"About?"

"Donnie, she's a seventeen year old girl who's been in trouble with the law, and just lost her big brother." Don turned to look at his father. "Charlie told me a little about the case, what little he could." Don smirked.

"Figures."

"My point is, what makes you so sure you can handle her?" Alan continued. Don looked away for a second.

"Because...look, it's complicated, but I don't necessarily think I'm gonna have to 'handle her.' She's almost eighteen, it's not like I'm gonna have to raise her, she's already raised, she knows how to take care of herself. Right now, I'm just happy she's finally talking to me a little," he sighed. Alan looked at him incredulously.

"You think that because you don't have to raise her that that gets you off the hook? Donnie, being a parent is more than just raising the kid. And apparently she's not doing a very good job of taking care of herself if she's been in jail more than once! She probably needs help, and that may not be the kind of help you can give her," he told his son seriously. Don sighed exasperatedly.

"Look, dad, I know this isn't gonna be easy, but I think I can handle it." Don noticed Alan sigh. "Her probation officer knows her better than almost anyone, and he thinks this will be good for her." Alan looked at Don.

"Well, I hope he's right," he said quietly as he got up. "I'll see you later."

xxxxx

When Don got back to the apartment that night he went into the living room, and saw Jess asleep on the couch with a few books open and several papers laying around on her and the coffee table. He silently laughed at the sight, and picked up one of the papers to see what all of it was. The one he picked up was a history paper on the Roman Empire, it had an A+ on the top. He smiled slightly as he noticed the other books and papers were for her English class, the few other graded papers all had A's on them as well. He stood there for a minute, debating on whether or not he should wake her up. He decided against it, and turned the lights out as he headed to bed.

* * *

**A/N: Well, I hope you liked that chapter! As always, reviews are greatly appreciated, and I don't mind criticism. I'm hoping to have the next chapter up soon.**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: OK, here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 14

"Hey Charlie," Don said as he entered his brother's office at CalSci. Charlie turned away from his blackboard.

"Hey," Charlie greeted nervously. "Look if this is about the case, I can't really give you any more than I gave David and Colby yesterday."

"Yeah, I know. This isn't about the case," Don assured him. "I just wanted to talk to you." Charlie looked intrigued.

"About?" Don sighed, and sat down on the edge of the desk.

"About Jess."

"Oh," Charlie sighed, putting down his chalk. "So, I guess dad did go talk to you yesterday." Don looked at him curiously. "He was in a bad mood when he got back," he explained. Don chuckled slightly.

"Yeah, I don't think I'm his favorite person right now," he told his brother lightly. Charlie smiled.

"When have you ever been his favorite person?" he teased. Don glared at him, and he chuckled. "I'm just kidding. So what did you wanna talk to me about?"

"Well, I mean we haven't really talked since dinner. I think dad was pretty clear about how he felt about the situation with Jess." Charlie nodded in agreement. "But you never really told me what you thought." Charlie looked at his brother in slight shock.

"You're asking me what I think about my big brother having a kid he never knew about?" Don rolled his eyes, but nodded.

"Yeah Charlie, I'm asking you what you think," he confirmed. "She is your niece after all." Charlie looked almost horror struck, he hadn't realized that yet. Don couldn't help but laugh at his brother's expression. "Don't worry Chuck, I'm pretty sure I probably had a similar expression when Daniels said he thought she was mine." Charlie glared at his brother.

"Don't call me Chuck."

"OK Chuck."

"Ha ha."

"But seriously Charlie, I did want your opinion. I don't want to be cut off from you guys just because now I have a kid." Charlie sighed, and sat down in his chair across from Don.

"I don't want that to happen either," he told him honestly. Don smiled. "But I guess it is kind of a shock. I mean, I get that it was a one time deal with her mom, so that's why you didn't know about her, but you did meet her on a case." Don sighed. "That being said...I'm glad you did," he said quietly, slowly looking up to meet his brother's gaze. Don stared at him for a minute before slowly nodding.

"Thanks Charlie."

"So, can I ask you something?" Charlie asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, ask away." Charlie paused a minute.

"How is everything going with her?" Don shifted uncomfortably a little, and took a deep breath.

"Well, okay I guess. I mean, she finally told me why she's ignoring me, I guess that's something." Charlie smirked. "What?" Charlie shook his head, still smiling though.

"Nothing," he replied. Don sighed exasperatedly.

"Oh come on Charlie, what?" he demanded. Charlie chuckled.

"You."

"What about me?"

"I just never thought of you as a dad. Especially not with a seventeen year old girl." Don chuckled a little too.

"Yeah, me either."

xxxxx

"Hey, so we tracked down the buyers, but no one's been in contact with any of them," Colby informed Don.

"Yeah, it seems like they're not even making an attempt to try to sell them," David added.

"So what, they're waiting it out, storing the stuff somewhere?" Don questioned.

"Yeah, or they never had any intention of selling it," Megan mused.

"Well, let's figure out where they could be keeping the stuff, and see if we can get anywhere on who the robbers are."

xxxxx

"Hey dad," Charlie greeted when he got home.

"Hey Charlie," Alan replied, not looking up from his paper. Charlie sat down his stuff, and watched his father for a second before going over and sitting down in front of him. "Can I help you with something?" Alan inquired, noticing his youngest son's gaze was directed upon him. Charlie took a deep breath.

"Don came to see me today," he told him.

"He did, huh?" Alan replied casually, going back to his paper.

"He came to ask me what I thought about him and Jess," Charlie continued, ignoring his father's attempt to avoid further discussion.

"And what did you say?" Alan asked from behind his paper.

"I told him I was glad." That got Alan to put down his paper.

"You did what?" Alan asked, not sure if he'd heard correctly.

"I told him I was glad," Charlie repeated. "And I am. I'm glad he found out he has a daughter. Sure, it's a little weird, but I think it'll be good for both of them." Alan sighed, but didn't say anything. Charlie stood up, and began walking towards the kitchen. "And I think I'm gonna invite them over for brunch Saturday," he added when he was almost out of hearing range. Alan perked up, and followed.

"I'm sorry, but did you say you were going to invite them over Saturday?" Alan asked when he got into the kitchen, where Charlie was heating up leftovers.

"Yeah, I think it'll be fun. We can invite Amita, Larry, and Megan to come over as well. Maybe David and Colby too. Anyone you wanna invite? We could make it like a little get together thing," Charlie said lightly as he took the food out of the microwave. Alan stared incredulously at his son.

"So you're not the least bit concerned that your brother is in over his head with all of this?" Charlie sighed, and looked at Alan.

"Look, yes it's different, and probably hard for them too, but this is Don we're talking about. I think he can handle it," Charlie told him. Alan sighed, knowing that Charlie was probably right, but still wary.

* * *

**A/N: Well, I hope you liked that chapter! I hope to update soon, but no promises, I'm easily distracted. Anyway, reviews are GREATLY appreciated!! I wanna know what you think! Criticism is fine too, I like to know what I can change to be a better writer.**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: OK, here's the next chapter. I actually updated quickly, yay! lol. anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 15

Don was tired after a long day, they still hadn't gotten any helpful leads on the antiquity thefts. He shrugged off his jacket, and threw the files down on the coffee table. He noticed the time, and was hungry, all he'd eaten was half a sandwich at lunch. He went back to Jess' room, the door was open, and she was sitting on the bed listening to her iPod, reading a book.

"Hey," she said, noticing he was standing in the doorway, pulling her headphones out.

"Hey, pizza sound good?" he asked. She nodded.

"Pizza's fine." He nodded, and went to go order. It was convenient that they both liked the same kind of pizza, then they just had to order a bigger pizza instead of two different kinds.

After the pizza got there, they were both watching TV in the living room, neither said much. This seemed to be a developing routine for the pair, since they were both a hazard in the kitchen. Don finally broke the silence.

"So, what were you working on the other night?" he asked casually.

"What was I working on when?" Jess asked, confused.

"When you fell asleep on the couch the other night," he clarified.

"Oh. Just homework," she answered.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"I thought you said you fell asleep during history?" he questioned.

"I do."

"So, how did you get an A+ on that paper?" Jess turned to stare at him. "The Roman Empire doesn't seem like something you would just read about for fun," he commented lightly, noticing the scowl she was sending him.

"You went through my stuff?" she asked through gritted teeth. Don sighed, she could actually be pretty intimidating when she wanted to be, thankfully he wasn't scared of her.

"No, it was just laying on the coffee table. I didn't know what it was," he replied. Jess rolled her eyes.

"If you knew, why did you ask?" she asked, Don could hear the bite.

"I was just trying to make conversation," he told her. Jess sighed.

"Fine."

"Why don't you want me going through your stuff?" he questioned, wondering why she was so defensive about homework.

"Because it's my stuff. Would you want me going through your stuff?" she replied sarcastically. Don chuckled.

"Good point," he conceded. After several more minutes of silence, and two slices of pizza later, Don broke the silence again. "So, how'd you get so smart?" he asked evenly. Jess shrugged.

"I'm not, I just read a lot," she answered unemotionally. Don snickered.

"Yeah, I've noticed." Jess smiled, but didn't comment. "So, you have straight A's because you read a lot?" She gave a slight nod and shrug.

"I guess- Wait...how did you know I made straight A's?" she inquired, turning to stare at him again. Don smiled.

"I didn't," he told her. "I just guessed." Jess puffed, and shook her head.

xxxxx

Megan was walking down the hallways of CalSci, she'd just left Larry's office after they'd had lunch together. She saw Alan coming out of Charlie's office, and decided to say hello.

"Hey stranger," she greeted as she caught up to the older man. He turned to her.

"Hello Megan. Visiting with Larry I presume?" he asked lightly as they walked together.

"Yeah, we had lunch. You come to see Charlie?" she questioned.

"No, just came to drop off his notebook he left at the house this morning," he answered. Megan nodded, then decided to subtly change to subject.

"So, I heard you guys are hosting a brunch tomorrow," she commented. Alan nervously put his hands in his pockets, fiddling with his keys.

"Ah yes, but Charlie's the host, I'm merely another guest," he told her tentatively. Megan smiled.

"So, I guess you're still having trouble with the Jess situation?" she inquired gently. Alan sighed, and gave her a small smile.

"You're very perceptive," he commented. Megan smiled.

"Nah, just a good listener, in case you're interested," she added. Alan chuckled.

"I see you've been talking to my son," he said, his tone light, but wary.

"A little. He will take my advice occasionally," she joked. Alan smiled.

"That's probably a good thing," he admitted.

"You wanna talk about it?" she asked softly. He slightly pursed his lips in contemplation.

"Can I ask for your advice?" he asked sincerely. Megan smiled warmly and nodded. "What do you think I should do? I want to be happy for him, I really do, but I'm just not so certain he can handle it. She seems nice, but I'm concerned about the trouble she's been in. I just don't know if Don's ready to take on a troubled teenage girl," he confided. Megan sighed, but gave him a small smile.

"I think that if anyone can get through to her, then it'll be Don." Alan had a confused expression. "You're right, she has her share of problems, but then again we all do. Jess' problems can be easily remedied." Alan looked interested now. "She's just had a tough life, a lot of people just gave up on her because she's stubborn." Alan smirked a little. "Yeah, which is why Don is a good person to help. He can be just as stubborn as her. She just needs someone to care, and not be deterred by all those walls she built up around herself," Megan told him. Alan sighed.

"She sounds a lot like Don," he said quietly. Megan smiled.

"I think she's probably more like him than either of them are willing to admit," she chuckled. Alan chuckled too.

"Thanks Megan," he told her sincerely. Megan smiled, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Anytime Alan, I mean that," she assured him.

* * *

**A/N: Well, I hope you liked that chapter! I don't know if I'll be able to update as quickly next time, but I'll try to update soon! Reviews are GREATLY appreciated!! I like feedback, and knowing what I can do to make it better. **


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Hey here's the next chapter. Sorry it took me so long to update. Hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 16

Don groaned as he rolled over to answer his cell phone, hating the fact that he was woken up early on his day off. He looked at the caller ID, and sighed as he saw it was his brother.

"Charlie if this isn't about the case..." he said warningly as he answered. "Excuse me?...Charlie it's my day off, and you're calling me at 6 AM to invite us to breakfast?...You're crazy....Yes, we'll be there," he sighed, shaking his head at his brother's antics. "...Yeah, yeah, yeah."

Groaning again as he got out of bed and got dressed, he finally made his way into the kitchen to put the coffee on. Slowly rubbing his head, trying to wake himself up, Don made his way into Jess' room. She was sprawled out on her stomach, covers everywhere, with her head buried in her pillow.

"Hey," he said, shaking her shoulder slightly to wake her up. Jess just groaned, and mumbled incoherently into her pillow. "Hey, come on, time to get up," he tried again.

"Go away," she muttered, turning her head the other way. Don chuckled, but tried shaking her again. Groaning again she added, "What time is it?"

"Six," he told her.

"It's six on Saturday morning?"

"Yeah."

"Bite me," she mumbled, pulling the cover over her head.

"Hey Charlie woke me up, and it's my day off," he defended. "Now come on, he wants us over for breakfast," he told her. "God only knows why," he added under his breath.

"Then tell Charlie to bite me," she amended, voice still muffled by the pillow, and the cover.

"Sorry," he chuckled. "Come on, coffee's almost ready," he said as he left the room.

"Coffee?" she muttered, raising her head slightly to look around, only to groan again when she saw the clock.

xxxxx

"Hey guys," Charlie said chipperly when Don and Jess got to the craftsman.

"Hey Charlie," Don replied quietly, still tired. When Charlie went back into the kitchen Jess gave Don a 'he's crazy' look. Don chuckled slightly as he sat down on the couch, leaning his head back.

"Oh you made it," Alan greeted as he entered the living room. Then he noticed the sleepy state they both seemed to be in. "You guys look tired." Don smiled slightly.

"What is with waking people up at six on a Saturday morning?" Jess asked bluntly. Alan and Don both chuckled. "What?! It's Saturday, you're supposed to sleep all day, not wake up before dawn!" she said grouchily. Alan and Don couldn't stop laughing though.

"You had three cups of coffee," Don said. Jess rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, but you make crappy coffee, it's way too weak," she told him.

"I'm not a caffeine addict like you are," he retorted.

"Yeah, well, you could still make it stronger," she replied, .

Alan couldn't help but smirk as he continued watching the pair bicker until Larry and Megan arrived.

"Hey guys," Megan said.

"Hello Megan," Alan greeted, giving her a smile, which she returned. "Hey Larry."

"Hello Alan," he replied. "So what do we have here?" Larry inquired as he noticed Don and Jess bicker.

"Two grouchy, non-morning people," Alan answered. Both Megan and Larry chuckled at that.

"We're not that bad," Don replied defensively as he and Jess stopped arguing when they heard the comment. Jess smirked.

"Speak for yourself. I am grouchy when someone wakes me up early," she said nonchalantly.

"Hey good, you're all here," Amita said as she came out of the kitchen. "Charlie says it's ready."

xxxxx

They'd had a good meal, especially considering most seemed to still be half-asleep. They were all dispersed around the house after cleaning up. Charlie, Amita, and Larry had gone out to the garage, and Don was watching TV.

"Hey," Alan said as he came over and sat down in the chair next to Don.

"Hey," Don replied.

The two sat there for a few minutes, neither were really watching the TV.

"Look, I know I've been kinda hard on you about this whole deal, and -" Alan started.

"Da-"

"No, now listen," Alan continued, holding his hand up to keep Don from saying anything. Don sighed, but didn't say anything. "I'm not gonna argue about whether or not you did the right thing, I'm accepting it." Don looked a little surprised, but smiled a little. "If you need any help or advice or anything..." Don nodded. "OK."

The two turned back to the TV. Don smiled slightly, making a mental note to thank Megan later for whatever she said.

Jess, who had been in the hallway and heard their conversation, walked out the back door. She went over and sat down by the koi pond, staring at the fish, but not really seeing them. She was just thinking.

"Mind if I join you?" Megan asked as she came up behind Jess. Jess turned, and nodded.

"Sure, go ahead."

"Thanks." They sat there a couple minutes before Megan turned to Jess. "So, how are things going with you and Don?" Jess smirked, but didn't look up.

"What'd he tell you?" Megan chuckled.

"I'm asking you, it doesn't matter what he said," she replied. Jess sighed, and turned to Megan.

"I don't need a shrink," she said bluntly. Megan smiled.

"Let me guess, you scared all of the ones you were forced to have away?" Jess chuckled.

"Pretty much."

"Well, can I give you some advice? Not as a shrink or anything, just some friendly advice." Jess rolled her eyes but nodded anyway. "Don't waste your time trying to scare Don away, it won't work." Jess looked up at Megan, with a curious expression. "He's not gonna give up on you," Megan told her sincerely. "Give him a chance, you might be surprised." Jess turned back to the pond, and Megan took the hint. She got up to leave, but looked back. "You _can_ trust him."

Jess sighed, but didn't take her eyes off the water. Megan watched her for a second before turning to head back inside.

* * *

**A/N: Well, I hope you liked that chapter! I'll try to update soon, but I make no promises. Reviews, as always, are GREATLY appreciated!**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: I know it's been forever since I've updated, but classes and everything have just been hectic. Anyway I finally got it up. Enjoy!**

* * *

chapter 17

"OK, so we found the antiques. There were only two guys guarding them, and they aren't the ones who actually did the robberies," David announced.

"So where are they?" Colby asked.

"Forensics was able to get some DNA evidence, hopefully something'll pop up," Megan said.

"Yeah, these guys sure seem like professionals, if they're ex-military or something we should get a hit," Don added.

xxxxx

Jess walked into the garage, where Charlie was working some problem on the chalkboard. She smirked, sat her messenger bag on the floor quietly, and walked up behind him.

"Hey Charlie," she greeted, a little loudly. Charlie jumped, dropping his chalk, and spun around quickly, causing Jess to burst out laughing.

"Jeez, you scared me," he sighed. Jess bit her lip to try to stop laughing, without much success. Charlie rolled his eyes at her. "Yeah, ha ha."

"Sorry," she muttered sarcastically, finally able to control her laughter.

"What's up?"

"Don just told me to come over here after school, said he'd be over later," she replied.

"Oh yeah, he said you guys were coming over for dinner." Charlie stopped for a second, then looked back at Jess. "Did you say 'after school'?"

"Yeah."

"Didn't schools let out a couple hours ago?" Jess shrugged.

"Yeah." She saw his inquisitive look. "I had to stay late."

"Ah," he said, nodding in understanding.

"Hey Charlie, I wa-" Alan started as he came into the garage, then stopped when he noticed Jess. "Oh, hi Jess."

"Hey," she replied, giving him a small smile.

"I was gonna ask Charlie, but I guess you might have a better idea," he continued nervously. Charlie and Jess shared a curious glance at each other before Alan continued. "Do you have any idea what time Don was gonna be over?" Both Jess and Charlie shook their heads.

"Nah, he said he'd be over after work, but that's all he told me," Jess answered. Alan nodded.

"OK then."

The three stood there in silence for a couple minutes. Alan finally cleared his throat, and started to leave.

"Well, I'm gonna go on and get dinner started." Charlie and Jess just nodded as he left.

"Was it just me or was that really awkward?" Jess asked, mostly to herself, but Charlie nodded.

"Yeah, I agree that was awkward," he confirmed. "But he's been like that for a while so I'm kinda getting used to it." Jess quirked an eyebrow.

"Let me guess, he's been like that since he found out about me, right?" she joked sarcastically. Charlie chuckled, but his face was rather somber. Jess noticed. "Hey, come on," she said, punching him playfully on the shoulder. "Buck up Chuck." Charlie scowled at her.

"Don't call me Chuck." Jess laughed at his distaste for the nickname. "Mini-Don," he muttered under his breath, shaking his head, as he turned back to his chalkboard. Jess raised her eyebrows, obviously hearing him.

"Excuse me?" Charlie smirked innocently.

"Nothing," he drawled teasingly. Jess scowled.

"You misspelled correspondence Chuck," she told him, pointing to the chalkboard, before hastily grabbing her bag and existing the garage.

"Hey!" He noticed Jess had already left, and just shook his head. "I did not," he grumbled to himself as he examined the word. "Oh...wait..." He grabbed a dictionary of the table, then frowned when he realized she was right. He shook his head again as he corrected his mistake.

xxxxx

Alan had put the food in the oven, and was now just waiting for it to finish. He was walking to the living room to grab something to read, only to pause when he saw Jess looking at some pictures on the wall.

"That's your grandmother," he told her as he came up beside her. Jess looked over at him for a second and then back at the picture, and nodded slowly. "That's Don and Charlie when they were little," he continued, pointing the picture of the two little boys. Jess smirked at that one. "This one was taken on a family vacation, I think Don was eleven," he said, pointing at another one.

"Normal family," she mumbled, almost inaudible, but Alan heard it. He was about to say something when Don walked in.

"Hey guys," he greeted.

"Hey Donnie," Alan replied. "Dinner should be ready soon." Don nodded.

"Alright. Where's Chuck?" Jess snickered, receiving two curious looks.

"Now, I get why he hates being called Chuck..." she mused. Don smirked, while Alan just shook his head and went back into the kitchen to check on the food.

"You called him Chuck, huh?" Jess nodded with a smile.

"For a genius he sucks at spelling," she added. Don chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah, you two laugh it up," Charlie grumbled as he came in, obviously hearing their conversation. This only caused Don and Jess to laugh harder. Charlie shook his head, mumbling under his breath, as he went into the kitchen.

"So, you called your teacher an idiot?" Don inquired after their laughter had died down. Jess shrugged.

"Well, she is." Don shook his head in amusement as they headed into the kitchen.

They joined Alan and Charlie in the kitchen, where the pair were bickering over which pan to use. Jess smirked at their conversation, while Don just rolled his eyes. Don went to grab drinks out of the fridge when the door bell rang.

"I got it," Alan said. "Make sure it doesn't overcook," he added to Charlie, who nodded.

Alan opened the door to find a woman who looked to be around Don's age. She was pretty attractive, dark auburn hair, and she was wearing fairly tight fitting clothes. Alan was curious as to who she was, and what she was doing here.

"Can I help you?" he asked. The woman smiled.

"Maybe, I'm looking for Don Eppes," she informed him. Now Alan was very curious.

"Uh, yeah, he's here. Come on in." The woman smiled her thanks, and followed him into the living room. "Don!"

"Yeah?" Don came into the room, but look genuinely stunned to see the woman.

"Hey stranger, long time no see," she said as she gave him a warm smile.

"I'll say," Don agreed, still stunned.

"Hey, Charlie says -" Jess started, coming into the room, but stopping when she noticed the visitor. She looked purely shocked to see the woman, eyes wide and mouth hanging open.

"Hello Rain," the woman greeted affectionately. Jess seemed to shake herself out of shock to glare at her.

"What the hell are you doing here mom?"

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**A/N: Hope you liked this chapter! Yes, I know, kind of a cliffy there at the end, but don't worry, the next chapter will start right where this one left off. I don't know how soon I'll have an update, but I'll try to have it up as soon as possible. Reviews are GREATLY appreciated!!!**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: YAY! It finally let me upload! Lol, sorry, I had this ready to upload last night, but for some reason it wouldn't let me till now. Anyway... This chapter picks up right where the last one left off. Enjoy!**

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chapter 18

"'Mom'?" Alan repeated, unsure if he'd heard correctly. The woman smiled and held out her hand to him.

"Rachel Zamora, I'm Rain's mother," she said, introducing herself, as Alan shook her hand. Jess sighed exasperatedly, shaking her head in annoyance. Don noticed.

"Alan Eppes, I'm Don's father," Alan replied.

"Nice to meet you Alan."

"OK, yet again I ask, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?" Jess burst in agitation. Rachel sighed, while Alan looked surprised at the outburst, and Don looked curious.

"What, a mother can't come see her kid?" Rachel asked lightly. Jess snorted, and rolled her eyes.

"When that mother is you, NO," Jess answered hostilely.

"Rain," Rachel started, but Jess just shook her head.

"Save the bullshit for someone who might actually believe it," she shot back before walking out.

"Jess," Don tried, but she was already gone.

"Well, that went well," Rachel muttered sarcastically.

"Hey guys, didn't Je-" Charlie started as he came into the room, but paused when he noticed the tension in the air and that Jess wasn't there. He looked around at everyone in confusion. Alan just shrugged, having no clue what had happened himself, and Don didn't seem to notice his brother.

"Maybe this isn't such a good time," he told Rachel, who sighed.

"I really need to talk to her," she replied firmly. Don shrugged slightly.

"I don't see her letting you try anytime tonight," he commented truthfully. The two stared at each other for a minute before Rachel finally nodded slowly.

"OK, fine. I'll try again another time."

"Come on, I'll walk you out."

As the two headed for the door, they left a confused Alan and Charlie behind.

"OK... what just happened?" Charlie asked, completely confused. Alan shook his head.

"I have no clue, but apparently that was Jess' mother." Charlie's mouth dropped open.

"H-her mother?" Alan nodded. "Wow..." Alan nodded again.

xxxxx

"Look, I'm sorry I just dropped by," Rachel started when they reached her car. "But I really just wanted to see her."

"Don't worry about it. I'll talk to her, see what's up," Don told her. Rachel gave him a small smile.

"You know, I never thought I'd be seeing you again." Don chuckled a little.

"Yeah, neither did I, and I certainly never thought I'd find out I had a kid." She just shook her head, and smiled.

"Well, it was good to see you again. I'll talk to you tomorrow," she said, getting into her car.

"See ya."

Don watched her drive away, and was very curious as to what was going on.

xxxxx

Don went into the garage, and saw Jess sitting on the floor, listening to her iPod. He walked over, squatting down in front of her. She looked at him, took a deep breath, and pulled out her headphones.

"Wanna tell me what that was all about?" he asked gently.

"Not really," she answered honestly. Don sighed, and sat down beside her.

"Why don't you tell me anyway." Jess looked down, playing with the zipper on her jacket.

"It's complicated."

"Jess..." She sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Look, she wants something, she _always_ wants something, whether it's drugs, a guy, or God only knows what else." Jess looked him in the eye. "She'll do _anything_ to get what she wants." Don noticed something in her eyes, but couldn't figure out what it was.

"So, what do you think she wants?" Jess shrugged.

"Tonight's the first time I've seen her in five years. I didn't know her then, I sure as hell don't know her now." Don nodded slowly.

"She didn't look like she was on anything tonight, she looked good." Jess smirked, causing Don to roll his eyes and shake his head in exasperatedly. "That's not what I meant. You know what I meant." Jess nodded.

"Yeah, I know what you meant. It won't last long though, it never does," she sighed. "The longest I ever remember her being clean for was six months, and that was when I was four." Don noticed the bite in her tone as she talked about her mother, but decided not to say anything yet.

They sat there in silence for a few minutes, both lost in their own thoughts and staring at the floor.

"She'll be around again won't she?" Jess asked him quietly, barely above a whisper. Don took a deep breath, he couldn't figure out what was going on, but knew Jess hated her mother, it was easy for anyone to tell.

"I told her I'd talk to her tomorrow. She said she just wanted to see you, and talk to you."

"Well, I don't wanna talk to her! Let alone see her," Jess snapped angrily, and scowling, catching Don off guard. They held eye contact for a minute before Jess finally looked away and back at the floor. "Look, I'm sorry. Can we just drop this please?" she asked calmly, though with a hint of a pleading quality in the question. Don sighed.

"For now," he agreed. Jess nodded.

"Can you do me a favor?" Don smirked, though he was more than a little curious.

"What is it?" Jess looked him in the eye.

"Be careful with her, she's not exactly the most honest or straightforward type of person," she warned earnestly.

"OK," he nodded. Jess looked back at the ground, not saying anything else. Don just watched her, knowing there was more to it than what she said, but knew she wouldn't tell him tonight.

"Hey, you guys gonna come eat before the food gets cold?" Alan asked softly when he came into the garage. Don and Jess both looked up at him.

"Yeah," Jess replied in a much lighter tone than she had had, getting up and heading back into the house. Alan looked at Don inquisitively.

"What's going on?" he asked his son, confused about Jess' reaction to her mother. Don just shook his head as he stood up.

"I wish I knew," he replied truthfully as he headed back into the house as well.

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**A/N: Well, I hope you liked this chapter! I'll try to update as soon as I can, but no promises. As always, reviews are GREATLY appreciated!**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Alright, here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy!**

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chapter 19

"Hey," Don greeted when Jess came into the kitchen. She looked up from rummaging through her messenger bag, seemingly a little surprised to see him.

"Hey," she replied slowly. "Aren't you supposed to be at work or something?" she asked, glancing at her watch to make sure her alarm hadn't woken her up earlier than usual.

"I called Megan and told her I'd be in later."

"Oh." She went to grab a pop-tart out of the cabinet. "So...why are you going in later?" she questioned. Don took a drink of his coffee, trying to figure out how to answer.

"Well...I just wanted to talk, I guess," he answered.

"About what?" Jess inquired, though she thought she already knew the answer. Don sighed.

"About last night," he replied quietly. Jess didn't say anything, just put the pop-tart in her bag.

"Well, I need to get to school," she said dismissively, starting to walk away, but Don grabbed her arm to stop her. "What?" Don noticed she wouldn't look him in the eyes.

"Want a ride?" he asked, deciding to try a different approach to get her to talk. Jess shook her head.

"No thanks, I'm just gonna catch my regular bus," she told him, shaking her arm out of his grasp, and leaving before he could say anything else.

xxxxx

"Whatcha doin'?" Megan asked curiously, in a slightly sing-song voice. Don looked up, startled, and shook his head tiredly.

"Nothing," he replied calmly. Megan quirked an eyebrow, and peeked over his shoulder. He quickly flipped the folder over, but she caught what it was anyway. She was giving him a very bewildered expression.

"Why are you reading Jess' file?" she inquired slowly, in a slightly accusing tone. Don sighed.

"I was hoping that it might be able to tell me what she's not telling me," he answered truthfully. Megan furrowed her brows slightly.

"What happened?" she questioned. Don shrugged slightly.

"I'm not sure, really. Her mom showed up last night." Megan's eyes went wide open.

"Her mom?" Don nodded. "Wow...I bet that was a shocker for you. I mean you haven't seen her since..." she trailed off, but Don got the picture.

"Yeah, I was definitely surprised," he agreed.

"So, how did Jess take it?" Megan asked gently. Don gave her a look.

"She was shocked too, I think, but not in a good way."

"What do you mean?" she questioned curiously as she sat down in a chair across from him.

"Well...she seemed pissed. She snapped at her mom, and then at me when I told her her mom just wanted to talk to her," Don explained vaguely. Megan slowly nodded contemplatively.

"Well, I mean Daniels did say that her brother was the one who took care of her, not her mom, and that her mom wasn't a fit mother, that's why social services stepped in. Maybe the reason why Jess hates her mom is the same reason she was put into foster care," she mused. Don gave a slight nod.

"Yeah, I figured as much, but she won't tell me anything." Megan smirked.

"Which is why you're going through her file?" she guessed. Don looked a little guilty, but nodded.

"Yeah, I guess I was just hoping that maybe something in there would help me figure out what's going on," he sighed. Megan gave him a small smile.

"I hate to have to break it to you, but the only way you're gonna find out what's going on with Jess is to ask Jess." Don nodded, he knew that, he just knew it wasn't going to be easy. "Though there might be someone who could help you a little." Don smirked.

"Yeah, I was gonna stop by on my way home."

xxxxx

Jess was coming out of school, she was tired, it had been a long day, when she heard someone calling her name. She looked over and saw her mother standing in front of her car, waving cheerfully. Jess sighed, tilting her head back, and shaking her head.

"Could this day get any worse," she muttered sarcastically to herself, knowing that it was probably about to do just that. "What do you want?" she barked when she reached her mother, who's exuberant smile faded a tad at Jess' tone.

"I wanted to see you sweetie," Rachel replied, still jolly. "You seemed like you were in a bad mood last night, so I decided to see if you wanted to go do something to cheer you up." Jess snorted.

"Well, I wasn't ina 'bad mood' until you showed up. So if you wanna cheer me up, go back to wherever the hell you came from," she replied harshly. Rachel sighed exasperatedly, noticeably less cheery, but still managed a slight smile.

"I'm sorry you feel that way," she said, seemingly sincere. Jess rolled her eyes.

"And why's that?" she scoffed.

"Because it might make living under the same roof difficult if we can't find a way to get along," Rachel told her, a hint of smugness in her tone. Jess stared at her mother incredulously.

"If you honestly think I'll ever be living, no scratch that, if you think I'll even be in your life you are the biggest moron on the planet," Jess replied sharply. Rachel shrugged.

"Does that mean the judge that signed this is too?" she inquired calmly, holding up a piece of paper. Jess glared at her, but took the paper.

"What is this?"

"It's a petition for custody," Rachel answered, sounding business-like. "If granted, it means you'll be in my custody until your eighteenth birthday." Jess swallowed hard as she read over the paper, and realized her mother was telling the truth. "You can't honestly say you'd rather live with the father you've never known instead of your own mother," she continued arrogantly. Jess gave her mother a look of pure contempt.

"You're no mother," she told her, barely above a whisper. Rachel smiled brightly.

"We'll see," she stated, before getting into her car and driving away.

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**A/N: Well, I hope you liked this chapter! I'm gonna try to have an update up soon, but this week is midterms so I might not be able to get much writing done. We'll see though. Anyways, as always reviews are GREATLY appreciated!!! I wanna know what you think about it.**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Yay, I was actually able to update soon! Anyway, I know this is a longer chapter, but it was either make it longer or shorter, and I chose longer. Enjoy!**

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chapter 20

Don took a deep breath as he knocked on the door to the office.

"Come in." Daniels, who was shuffling through papers, looked up and smirked when he saw Don. "Hey. Should I be worried, or are you just feeling like you got in over your head?" he asked wryly. Don chuckled.

"Actually, I was gonna ask you if I should be the one worrying," he replied lightly. Daniels looked at him, a curious expression covering his face.

"And why would you think you should be worrying?" he questioned cautiously, getting an uneasy feeling about where this was headed. "Something happen?"

"Just that her mom showed up last night, and I can't get Jess to tell me why she hates her so much," Don answered, cutting right to the chase. Daniels held Don's gaze for a minute, and Don could see the noticeable change in his demeanor. "What?" Daniels took a deep breath, slouched down in his chair, and ran his hands over his face. Now Don was worried.

"I was hoping that Rachel would do everyone a favor and stay away," Daniels admitted quietly. "I guess that was too much to ask." Don was watching him with a bewildered expression. Daniels sighed, and looked back at Don. "Look, Rachel shouldn't have been allowed to keep custody of Jess as long as she did, I'm surprised no one stepped in while Kyle was there, but I guess he did too good of a job taking care of things." He took another deep breath before continuing. "Look, Jess is a good kid, she's smart, but she doesn't always make the best decisions. Just...keep an eye on her, OK?" Don nodded, not really sure what all that meant, but knew it probably wasn't good. He started to leave when Daniels stopped him. "Hey Don, whether she tells you or not...Jess does need you," he told him sincerely.

xxxxx

"Jess?" Don called when he got back to the apartment. She didn't answer. He went into the kitchen, sighing and shaking his head when he saw two empty beer bottles on the counter. "Dammit," he mumbled to himself, as he made his way into the living room. There he saw Jess passed out on the couch, her arm hanging off the side with a half-empty beer bottle in her hand, and another empty one on the coffee table. Don took a deep breath as he walked over and bent down by her, pulling the bottle out of her hand and setting it on the coffee table. "Hey," he said softly, shaking her shoulder slightly. She groaned slightly, but didn't wake up, so he tried again. "Hey, come on, wake up." Jess groaned again, straining to open her eyes slightly. When she finally got them open, Don forced her to make eye contact with him. "Can you sit up?" he asked gently.

"I think so," she answered, slurring slightly. Don grabbed her shoulders and helped her sit up slowly. She held her head in her hands, letting her elbows rest on her knees. Don sat down beside her, watching to make sure she didn't fall over.

"Wanna tell me what you were thinking?" he said, more as a command than a request, but keeping his voice at a lower volume than normal.

"Wasn't," she mumbled, almost incoherent. Don sighed, he knew he wouldn't be able to get much out of her when she was like this.

"Come on, let's get you to bed," he told her, standing and reaching down to help her stand as well.

Jess tried to stand on her own, but didn't have much success. Don caught her before she fell, and half-carried her back to her room. She was out of it again by the time her head hit the pillow. As he watched her sleep, Don couldn't help but wonder what happened to get her to do this to herself. She hadn't been happy earlier, by any stretch, but she seemed to be dealing with it. Don knew something had happened between the time she'd left that morning to whenever she got back and started drinking, he just didn't know what that something was.

xxxxx

When Jess woke up she had a horrible headache. She grabbed her head in hopes to subdue the pain a little, but no such luck. She cringed as yesterday's events came flooding back to her. She sat up as slowly as possible, knowing any sudden movements and she'd be redecorating the floor with whatever was in her stomach. As she took a deep breath, trying to swallow the bile that was building up in her throat, she noticed a note on the night stand. Slowly and apprehensively, she picked it up and read over it.

It was from Don, saying there was aspirin by the sink in the bathroom, coffee in the kitchen, and that he was gonna stop by on his lunch break. Jess looked at her watch, she had about an hour, if he wasn't too busy.

She got off the bed and made her way into the bathroom slowly, having to use the wall to steady herself a couple of times. She grabbed the bottle of aspirin, popped a few in her mouth, and washed them down with a glass of water. She looked at her reflection in the mirror. Sighing and shaking her head, she ran some water before splashing it on her face. She decided that she should probably take a shower to wake herself up a little, and to help pull her out of the hangover.

xxxxx

Don shrugged off his jacket in the kitchen, noticing the coffee pot was now empty, and made his way back to Jess' room. He noted she probably just got out of the shower considering her hair was soaked and she had on some old sweats, that had most likely been her brother's.

"Hey." She looked over at him, and he noted she looked somewhat guilty. "Feeling better?" She shrugged.

"A little." Don walked over by her. "Can you please not yell? I already have a killer hangover." Don smirked.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna yell. I can sympathize with you too much to yell." Jess chuckled a little. "You mind?" he asked, motioning to the spot next to where she was sitting cross-legged on the bed.

"Nah, go ahead." She scooted over to give him a little more room, though Don figured the shifting was probably more a nervous habit than anything else.

"Ready to talk about it?"

"Do I have a choice?" she replied, a tiny bit of hopefulness in her voice. Don shook his head.

"None whatsoever." Jess shrugged.

"Yeah, I figured as much, but ya can't blame me for trying." Don grinned a little, but then turned serious again.

"So...what happened?" he questioned bluntly.

"I got drunk." Don rolled his eyes.

"I know that part," he drawled. "Why don't you tell me _why_ you decided to get drunk." Jess didn't look at him, she sighed and wrapped her arms around herself, rocking back and forth slightly. "Jess...please, just talk to me," Don pleaded with her, placing a hand on her shoulder, trying to get her to look at him.

Jess closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and leaned over the bed to grab her backpack. After a couple minutes of sifting through it she pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to him. Don gave her a curious glance, but read over the paper.

"Oh." That was all he could manage when he realized Jess had been right, Rachel did want something. That something just happened to be Jess. After a few minutes of silence Don looked back over at Jess, who looked a little dreary, and he doubted it had anything to do with the hangover. "What exactly happened with you and your mom?" he asked as gently as he could. Jess swallowed hard, and refused to look up, instead staring intently at a spot on the floor.

"It's complicated," she told him quietly. Don sighed.

"You said that before. Why don't you try me anyway?" he prodded.

"After Kyle left...she got worse. One night I had to call 911 when she overdosed on Cocaine," Jess told him so quietly he almost couldn't hear it. "When the cops realized she was my only guardian, they called Social Services, and I never saw her again...until now."

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**A/N: Well, I hope you liked this chapter! I'll try to update soon, but no promises. Please review! I love getting feedback!**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Yay, I actually updated quickly! I should probably be studying or something instead of writing, but oh well. Anyway, shorter chapter, but more depth I think. Enjoy!**

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chapter 21

"Hey," Megan greeted when Don got back to the office.

"Hey."

"How's Jess?" she inquired.

"Physically or emotionally?" he countered.

"Both." Don sighed, and turned to look at her.

"Well, she's getting over the hangover, but I think the fact that her mother is trying to regain custody is messing with her head a little," he answered, unable to keep the irritation out of his voice. Megan raised her eyebrows, both at his tone and what he'd said.

"Her mother wants custody?" she asked in disbelief. Don nodded grimly. "Wow...You don't think she'll get it do you? I mean Jess will be eighteen in a couple months, so it's not like it's a long term thing, but...Why would she want custody now, after all this time?" Don shrugged.

"I honestly don't have a clue, but I really can't see her getting custody anyway," he told her truthfully.

"Did Jess tell you what happened?" Megan questioned, noticing he seemed to know something.

"Yeah," he said quietly.

"And?" she prompted. Don took a deep breath, running his hand through his hair as he did so.

"Jess called 911 when Rachel overdosed on Cocaine." Megan's jaw dropped slightly.

"She overdosed in front of her twelve year old daughter?" she reiterated incredulously. Don nodded. "No wonder she lost custody."

"Yeah," he muttered in agreement.

"Wait, how long did Jess say it'd been since the last time she'd seen her mom?" Megan asked, seeming to be contemplating something.

"Uh...I think that was the last time," he answered. "Why?" Megan sighed.

"That means she didn't even come back when her son died," she told him dejectedly. Don just stared at her a minute, realizing she was right, and that probably only added to why Jess hated her mother. "No wonder Jess hates her..." she mused. Don smirked, but nodded his agreement.

xxxxx

"Come on...answer..." Jess muttered, more to herself than into the pay phone she was using. "Hey!" she greeted cheerfully when the person picked up. "No, nothing's wrong, well, not really anyway....Yeah, I know I'm not supposed to call, but..." She sighed defeatedly. "I just needed to talk to you," she admitted softly, smiling a little at their reply. "Thanks..."

xxxxx

"Where did you go?" Don questioned when Jess got back to the apartment.

"I just went for a walk, to clear my head," she answered, grabbing a soda out of the fridge.

"Jess," he said to get her attention.

"What?" she replied casually, looking over at him.

Don took a deep breath, it was getting harder and harder for him to try to figure out how to talk to her, and Jess definitely wasn't making it easy on him.

"You wanna talk?" he asked gently.

"About what?" She was pretending she didn't know what he was talking about, and Don knew it.

"Dammit Jess, cut the crap!" he snapped, catching her off guard, surprising himself a little too. "Stop thinking that if you continue trying to keep me at arm's-length that it'll get you out of having to actually deal with whatever issues you have!" he continued irritatedly. "You can't just pull stupid shit like you did last night, and think you can get away with not explaining why!...And yes, I know you told me why, but you still aren't talking about it," he added, seeing she was getting ready to argue. Jess closed her mouth, and just stood there. Don sighed, shaking his head, he ran his hand over his face. "You know, I get that I'm not exactly the best role model for talking about stuff, and I already told you I don't know how to be a dad, but guess what Jess," he continued, much calmer. "I'm still trying. It wouldn't hurt you to try too." And with that he left her standing there, with a pained expression covering her face after he left.

Jess stood there for a few more minutes, taking slow deep breaths. She thought back to the conversation she'd had earlier, and realized both he and Don were right. Closing her eyes she took one final big deep breath, and went into the living room where Don was sitting on the couch, head in his hands, with his elbows resting on his knees.

"Look...it's not that I don't want to talk to you," she stated, causing Don to look up at her curiously. "But I've been taking care of myself for as long as I can remember. Yeah, I had my brother, but he had to take care of himself too, so we mainly just took care of ourselves, occasionally each other. We grew up in a gang neighborhood, most of my friends are in gangs or dead because of one. There are a lot of things I wanna forget ever happened, but I can't. And there are some things that I just can't tell you, and not because I don't want to, but because I can't, and you just have to accept that. Everything else...well, it's gonna take me longer than a few weeks to trust you with that, and again not because I don't want to, but...I have a hard time trusting anyone anymore, you can probably figure out why. And just so you know...I don't care whether or not you know how to be a dad, because, with just my brother and friends as the closest people in my life, honestly I have no clue what a family acts like anyway." And with that she turned and walked out of the room, leaving Don in stunned silence.

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**A/N: Well, I hope you liked this chapter! I tried to put more angst in that last conversation. Anyway, I'll try to update again soon. Please, please review!!! They are much appreciated!**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Yay, new chapter! lol, anyway enjoy!**

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chapter 22

Don felt like an idiot for thinking the reason Jess wasn't talking to him was because she didn't want to and was trying to avoid him. He knew he should've realized that she just didn't trust people in general, not just him. Before this whole thing with Rachel showing up Jess had started to talk to him, maybe not about much, but at least it was something. She had been trying, he knew that. He wasn't sure why he'd lost his cool with her, maybe it was because he wanted her to tell him what was wrong, that way maybe he wouldn't have to figure it out on his own after she got drunk again. He didn't know, but he did know something was going on with her and the fact that she was letting it show had him worried.

"Hey dad," Don greeted when he entered the craftsman.

"Hey Donnie," Alan replied, glancing up from his paper to watch his tired-looking son plop down on the couch. "Something wrong? Or did you actually get an afternoon off, and now you have no clue what to do with yourself?" he joked, though his tone was serious. Don chuckled.

"No, it's not that."

"Then what is it? _Is_ something wrong?" Alan prodded. Don sighed, and ran his hand through his hair.

"I don't know," he answered honestly. Alan furrowed his brows in confusion.

"What do you mean you don't know?" When Don didn't answer Alan took that as a sign that it probably had something to do with Jess. "How's your daughter?" Don looked at his father, who was staring back intently, and took a deep breath.

"Not talking to me," Don finally told him. Alan nodded slowly.

"This wouldn't happen to have something to do with her mother would it?"

"I don't know, to be honest. I thought so, at least I thought so yesterday," he amended.

"What do you mean you thought so yesterday?" Alan questioned. Don sighed, as he leaned forward, letting his elbows rest on his knees.

"Well...Rachel wants custody." Alan's eyes widened slightly, but he didn't say anything, just motioned for Don to continue. "I found out from Jess yesterday when I was trying to get her to tell me why she decided to get drunk. B-"

"She got drunk?" Alan interrupted. Don fought the urge to roll his eyes at the interruption and nodded.

"Yes, I came home the other day and she was passed out on the couch. Will you let me finish?" Don added hastily, seeing Alan was getting ready to interrupt again. Alan huffed, but nodded and let Don continue. "Thank you. Well, I mean you saw how she was the other night when her mom showed up, right?" Alan nodded. "Well, I tried to talk to her the next morning, but she blew me off, wouldn't even look me in the eyes. I stopped by to see her probation officer on the way home, hoping he could tell me why she was acting so weird."

"And did he?" Alan questioned. Don shrugged.

"Apparently he hates Rachel too." Alan looked confused. "He said he was surprised she'd kept custody of Jess as long as she did, and that he had been hoping she'd stay away."

"But she didn't," Alan commented.

"No, she didn't. And I'm beginning to agree with him that she should've." Alan smirked slightly, but nodded his agreement. "Anyway, I got back to the apartment and Jess was passed out on the couch. She wasn't coherent enough to tell me anything then, so I waited till yesterday. I stopped by on my lunch break to talk to her, and she showed me the petition for custody Rachel filed."

"That was enough to make her get drunk?" Alan inquired incredulously. Don shrugged slightly.

"I don't know about that, but I think why Rachel lost custody in the first place probably was."

"Which was?" Don took a deep breath and looked Alan in the eyes.

"Jess watched her mom overdose when she was twelve." Alan's mouth dropped open slightly. "Since Rachel was the only guardian, Social Services put Jess in foster care."

"And now she wants custody of her daughter back?" Don nodded. Alan sighed. "Well, I can see how that would make Jess upset, but what does that have to do with her not talking to you?" Don shifted uncomfortably.

"Well...uh...Yesterday, when I got home from work she wasn't there," Don started, slightly uneasy. Alan noticed.

"Where was she?" he questioned, unable to hide the concern in his voice.

"She said she just went for a walk, to clear her head."

"And?" Don fumbled a second, trying to think of how to word it.

"And...I asked her if she wanted to talk, thinking maybe she'd finally talk to me since she told me about her mom."

"But she didn't," Alan guessed. Don gave a slight nod and chuckle.

"No, she tried to blow me off and pretend she didn't know what I was talking about." Alan gestured for him to continue, knowing there was more to this story. Don sighed. "I kinda snapped," he admitted quietly. Alan looked at him curiously.

"Define snapped," he instructed. Don couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes that time.

"Well, I kinda blew up. Told her she couldn't just do stuff like getting drunk and not explain why, that she couldn't just try to ignore me and hope that solves her problems, stuff like that..." Alan nodded knowingly, but also gave Don a sympathetic smile. "And I also kinda implied that even though I was trying to figure out this whole being a dad thing that she wasn't trying." Alan looked bewildered.

"You two can be very confusing, you realize that, right?" he commented lightly. Don chuckled and grinned, but nodded. "Look, you two just need time to figure everything out in your relationship." Don nodded, Megan had told him the same thing, and he knew they were right. "But Donnie...every parent snaps at their kid," Alan assured him. "Especially when they do stupid stuff like getting drunk. Don't be too hard on yourself." Don sighed, and gave him a small smile.

"Thanks dad."

"Don't mention it." They sat there for a minute before Alan finally asked, "So what did Jess do when you snapped at her?"

"Surprisingly she was calm." Alan looked at him curiously. "After I snapped I went into the living room, and I was already feeling guilty enough when she came in. She told me that it didn't matter that I didn't know how to be a dad because she wouldn't know if I was doing it right anyway. She said she wasn't avoiding me because she didn't want to talk to me, but because she doesn't trust me." Alan nodded slightly as he thought about how much sense that made. "The thing that gets me though is that I was an idiot, I should've realized that to begin with. I wouldn't trust people if I was in her position either." Alan smirked.

"Donnie, you have a hard time trusting people now, and you're not in Jess' position," he pointed out. Don sighed exasperatedly, even though he knew it was the truth. "Megan was right, she is a lot like you. Neither of you wanna talk about anything that's bothering you, and you're both too stubborn to ask for help when you need it." Don sent an annoyed glare at his father, though he knew Alan was right.

"You think she needs help?" Don asked quietly. Alan looked his son in the eyes.

"I think you should figure out what's really bothering her, if it's not just this thing with her mom, and then go from there," he advised gently. Don nodded contemplatively.

* * *

**A/N: Well, I hope you liked this chapter! I know it was just Don and Alan, but their conversation ended up being longer than I had originally intended. Don't worry, I'm gonna try to get the next chapter up soon. Reviews are GREATLY appreciated!**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: OK, I know this is a shorter chapter, but I felt I needed to cut it off where I did. Anyway, enjoy!**

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chapter 23

"So, we finally got back the DNA from the warehouse," David told them.

"Yeah, apparently these two guys," Colby started, pulling up a couple pictures on the screen. "were discharged around the same time. They're ex-black-ops turned hired guns. We're still trying to track them down, but we were able to find an address so maybe that'll give us something."

"OK, Megan, you and David go check it out. Colby, let's try to get with someone, find out who these guys worked with," Don delegated. They all nodded, and went to do their respective jobs.

xxxxx

"OK, so an old Army buddy of mine was able to help me track down some of the guys in their old unit," Colby informed Don. "A couple are still on active duty, and another lives in Montana, but a...Don?" Colby noticed Don was no longer paying attention. He followed Don's gaze, and saw the woman that was making her way over to them. "Wow...who's she?" Don turned back to Colby, and smirked.

"Easy Colby, or you might find out you have a kid eighteen years later," Don warned teasingly, though he was dead serious. Colby looked at Don, surprised.

"Wait, that's..." Don nodded, knowing Colby had been able to put it together. "Wow." Colby smirked at Don, and teased, "At least now we know where Jess gets a lot of her looks from." Don scowled at him. "No offense of course," Colby added quickly. Don chuckled, letting Colby know he was just teasing him back, and shook his head.

"None taken."

"Hello Don," Rachel greeted as she reached the two men. "Hi, I'm Rachel Zamora," she introduced herself, holding out her hand to Colby, which he shook.

"Colby Granger. Nice to meet you," he replied. "I'm just gonna go run down these names," he added to Don, who nodded, and then left to give the two a little more privacy.

"So, what are you doing here?" Don asked her. "Finally gonna let me know you filed for custody?" he huffed sarcastically. Rachel sighed.

"Well, I see she actually did tell you about that," she noted. Don rolled his eyes.

"Don't you think you should've told me first?" he questioned impatiently.

"Why?" Don just stared at her incredulously. "Don, you may biologically be her father, but I'm her mother and I was there for her."

"I wouldn't call forcing her to take care of herself, and then having to call 911 when you overdosed, being there for her," Don interjected harshly. Rachel watched him in shock for a minute, but then cleared her throat and regained control of herself.

"Well, I admit there were some rough patches, but she's still my daughter," she continued, though not as confidently as before. "I just thought you might want to know. I _will_ get her back," she stated firmly. Don slowly shook his head.

"I seriously doubt that Rachel," he told her honestly. She just shrugged.

"I figured you'd want her out of your hair. Rain's always been rather...reckless." And with that Rachel turned and left.

Don wasn't sure what she was hoping to accomplish with that last statement, but he didn't think it was false either. Daniels had told him Jess didn't always make the best decisions, and everything except her grades seemed to agree with that.

xxxxx

He stood there, inwardly debating. Don wasn't sure whether he should do this or not. It definitely violated privacy, and he knew he hated it when his parents had done it, but then again he needed to know what was going on with Jess. She would certainly be pissed, but if she wouldn't tell him then he was gonna have to figure it out for himself.

He sighed, and walked into her room. He wasn't exactly sure where to start, but figured he'd start with drawers, since it's easier for stuff to get lost in them. He opened up a couple, they just had some clothes. There was nothing out of the ordinary, or at least until he moved a pair of jeans and noticed some condoms. He wasn't sure whether he should be shocked, angry, or worried. He was sort of just paralyzed for a second, unsure of what to do. He knew he probably shouldn't be surprised, it wasn't like he hadn't had sex at her age, but then again it was different when it was your kid instead of you. He shook those thoughts out of his head as he shut the drawer. He saw her backpack on the floor by the bed. He knew she kept most of her stuff in there. He sat down on the bed, and picked up the backpack. Inside was her laptop, a scrapbook, and other random items. There were a couple books, _Crime and Punishment_ and _The Art of War_. Don realized that all the other books he'd seen her reading were from the library, but these looked old and worn and they weren't from the library. He smirked at her choice in literature, but continued looking. He found a couple fake IDs and a pack of cigarettes in the front pocket. He shook his head, deciding he'd have to address that later, but then he noticed something that made his jaw drop.

"Oh geez," he sighed quietly.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you liked this chapter! Yes, I know that was kind of a cliffhanger there at the end. Now you see why I decided to cut the chapter off there. Don't worry though, I'm already working on the next chapter. It'll have where Don confronts Jess. It should be up soon. Reviews are GREATLY appreciated!!!**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: Finally! I would've had this up earlier, but my dad kept bugging me so I was kinda distracted. Anyway, here it is, it's a little longer and it's just Don and Jess in this one. Enjoy!**

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chapter 24

"Hey," Jess greeted when she entered the kitchen, seeing Don sitting at the counter. Though she noted his expression. "What's up? You look like this one guy's mom when she caught us making out in his room," she joked. Don gave a slight chuckle, but it was hollow.

"Was that all you two were doing?" he countered. Jess looked uncomfortable for a second as she sat her messenger bag down.

"When she caught us, yeah," she admitted. "So, what's up? Why do you look so serious?"

"Sit down."

"Uh...oh-kay..." Jess sat down at the counter, giving him a curious look. "This isn't about sex, is it? Cause, no offense, but that would just be really awkward, not to mention I already know it." Don couldn't help but smirk, but it faded quickly.

"No, it's not about sex," he assured her. Jess nodded thankfully, and waited for him to continue. Don took a deep breath, and pulled something out of his pocket. Jess swallowed hard, looking rather nervous, when she saw what he was holding.

"Oh." Don looked at her incredulously.

"'Oh'? That's all you have to say? I find a baggie of heroin in your backpack and all you have to say is 'oh'?" he stated slowly, but angrily.

"What do you want me to say?" Jess asked quietly. "It's not mine," she told him firmly. Don scoffed.

"It's in _your_ room, in _your _backpack, and you're honestly trying to tell me it's _not_ yours?" he retorted. Jess rolled her eyes, and got up to leave. "No, sit back down. We're nowhere near done talking about this," Don told her firmly. Jess huffed.

"Yeah, actually we are if you're not gonna listen to a word I say," she argued.

"Jess, this isn't a game! This is serious! And we have gotta talk about it!" he snapped.

"No we don't, because there's nothing to talk about!" she protested, raising her voice.

"The hell there isn't!" Don replied, matching her tone and volume.

Neither moved for a few minutes, they just stared challengingly at each other. Don finally took a deep breath, running his hands over his face.

"Sit down Jess," he told her calmly, but firmly. Jess sighed, but sat back down anyway. "Look...if..." he stammered. "If you have a problem, then -"

"I don't have a problem!" Jess denied forcefully, catching Don slightly off guard. He sighed.

"Jess..."

"NO! I don't have a problem OK?" she interrupted. Don looked at her, getting ready to say something, but she shook her head violently. "NO. I'm not on drugs!" she stated firmly. Don sighed, and started to say something but Jess shook her head again. "No. Look, I will take any drug test you can think of to prove it, but I _am not_ on drugs! I swear to God I'm not!" Don could see the sincerity in her eyes, but still couldn't deny what he'd found.

"Then why do you have heroin?" he questioned bluntly. Jess sighed and looked down.

"I stole it," she admitted quietly. Don's mouth dropped open slightly in disbelief.

"What?" he asked incredulously. "You say you're not on drugs, and now you're saying the drugs I found in your room are stolen? From who? Who did you still drugs from, and why?" he inquired, raising his voice. Jess didn't look up at him, but started fiddling with the zipper on her jacket.

"I got them from mom's purse," she mumbled, almost to the point he couldn't hear, but Don did hear her.

"What?" he blurted, unsure if he'd heard correctly. Jess swallowed and looked back up at him.

"The day she came to see me at school, when she told me she trying to get custody back..." Don motioned for her to continue. "Well, I kinda suspected...I mean, like I said she's never clean for very long. Anyway, she sat her purse down for like two seconds to write down her phone number so she'd make sure I had it, like I'd actually use it, and I noticed the baggie. She wasn't looking...so I snatched it." Don shook his head exasperatedly. "But not for me!" Jess added hastily. "I figured that maybe she wouldn't risk buying more, with the whole custody thing, and then she'd start going through withdrawal and someone would notice. If they realize she's back on drugs they'll never give her back custody," she explained quickly, yet Don could hear the anxiety in her voice. Don sighed.

"Jess...If you thought your mom was back on drugs, you should've told someone," he told her gently. Jess sighed.

"They wouldn't have believed me," she objected. Don made her look him in the eyes.

"I would've," he stated simply. Jess didn't say anything, but she didn't look away either. "And I think Daniels probably would've too," Don added. Jess shrugged.

"Yeah, probably, but I never even told him she was in town." Don smirked.

"No, but I did." Jess' eyes went wide, and Don couldn't help but chuckle. "You wouldn't talk to me about your mom so I figured he might."

"Did he?" she asked quietly. Don nodded.

"Kinda. He was mad she'd showed up," he informed her. "I honestly don't think he'd let a judge give her custody of you anyway." Jess smirked.

"Probably not," she agreed. Don seemed to study her for a second. "What?"

"Can I ask you something, and you be completely honest with me?" he questioned somberly.

"The only drugs I've ever taken in my entire life is what they gave me in the hospital when I broke my leg. Even then I never filled the prescription they gave me, I ripped it up and threw it away so mom wouldn't get them," she answered hastily. Don let out a short laugh, but shook his head.

"Not what I meant," he told her. Jess grinned slightly, shrugging. "But, good to know," he added. Jess smiled.

"OK, so what _did_ you wanna ask me?" she prompted, curious. Don took a deep breath, looking away for a second before back at her.

"Why...why are you so against your mom getting custody? I mean...you turn eighteen in a couple months so it wouldn't be for very long anyway," he asked, stammering slightly. "And, I know what happened last time, and I get that she never showed up when your brother died, but I think there's more to it than that," he added when he noticed Jess getting ready to rattle of only a partial answer. "Am I right, is there more to it than that?" Jess took a deep breath, closing her eyes and turning away.

"Yes," she practically whispered. Don didn't say anything, just looked at her and waited for her to continue. Jess suddenly shook her head and got up to leave, but Don followed.

"No, wait." He grabbed her shoulders to make her face him, but she looked down instead of at Don. "Talk to me Jess," he instructed. She took a deep breath.

"I guess Mac was right," she chuckled. Don looked bewildered.

"About what?"

"I was _actually_ doing better here, for once in my life I was doing good. Then I went and screwed up again." Don shook his head.

"No, you made a mistake. One mistake like the other night doesn't mean you messed everything up." Jess shrugged.

"Maybe," she muttered.

"Look, your mom isn't going to get custody of you. But if me and you are gonna make this work then we have gotta be honest with each other, and I need you to trust me. I won't give up on you," Don assured her. "But I need you to meet me halfway...If you have a problem, you come to me, and I'll help you. I promise." Jess looked at him, it was the expression that if you looked close enough you could see the hopelessness in her eyes.

"Promises don't mean much to me," she told him faintly. Don shrugged slightly.

"What about actually keeping the promise?" he countered. Jess smiled weakly.

"Haven't had that happen yet so I wouldn't know."

"Well, I keep mine, so I guess you'll just have to figure that out," he told her confidently. Jess smiled, hoping that statement turned out to be true.

"This -" She gestured to the two of them. "scares me," she admitted quietly.

"I know," Don told her gently as he pulled her into a hug. At first she was uncertain and reluctant, but eventually relaxed.

* * *

**A/N: Well, I hope you liked that chapter! I'm not sure when I'll have the next chapter up. These last few just sorta got in my head and I had to get them out, but hopefully inspiration will come again. I'll update as soon as I can though! As always, I GREATLY appreciate feedback! So please, PLEASE review!!!**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: Yay, new chapter! Enjoy!**

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chapter 25

Jess walked into Daniels office. He looked up, slightly surprised to see her. She took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes.

"OK," she told him. Daniels seemed confused for a second, but when he realized what she was talking about he stood up and walked over in front of her.

"Are you sure?" he asked firmly. Jess nodded. "OK."

xxxxx

"So we found a guy from their old unit, living right here in LA. Colby and David went to go talk to him," Megan informed Don.

"Great, maybe he can tell us what his buddies are up to."

"Yeah, hopefully."

"Hey, can I talk to you?" Daniels asked coming up to the pair. Both Megan and Don looked over at him.

"What's up? What are you doing here?" Don countered.

"I need to talk to you," he replied. Don glanced at Megan, she gave him a slight nod, and left the room.

"OK, so what's up?" Don questioned, feeling slightly uneasy.

"Don't worry, it's nothing bad," Daniels assured him. "I just need your signature on something." Don gave him a curious look.

"For what?" he inquired. Daniels pulled out a piece of paper.

"Since Jess is a minor, it needs a guardian's signature," he explained, handing Don the paper. Don read over it, and looked up at Daniels.

"This is a restraining order," he stated. Daniels nodded. "Against Rachel." Once again Daniels nodded. Don sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Wanna explain this?" Daniels smirked.

"She didn't mention this, did she?" he guessed. Don looked at him and shook his head.

"No, she didn't." Daniels nodded.

"That explains your confusion then," he noted. "Look, I know you and Rachel had a thing, but you've seen how she is and how Jess reacts." Don nodded, shrugging slightly. "Frankly, I'm glad Jess finally decided to do this." Don gave him an inquiring look. "You know Jess hates her mom, but Rachel is still her mom. Before now I think Jess was holding on to a little bit of hope that her mom would change." Don shrugged a little, it made sense. "But then when Rachel never showed up when Kyle died...I think that convinced Jess that her mom would never change." Don nodded slowly.

"So why now? Why not when Rachel first showed up?" he wondered. Daniels shrugged.

"She probably thought she could handle it. Jess never has been good at asking for help." Don did his best to hide his grin.

xxxxx

Alan sighed exasperatedly, shaking his head, as he passed Charlie and Larry arguing in the living room. He made his way upstairs, and noticed the door to Don's old room was slightly ajar. He walked over and peeked inside. Jess was laying on the bed, with her head at the foot, tossing a baseball in the air. Alan smiled at the familiar site, though he hadn't seen it since Don was that age.

"What's bugging you?" he questioned as he entered the room. Jess saw him and sat up quickly.

"Hey," she greeted. "Sorry, I was just..."

"Getting away from the geniuses?" he guessed. Jess grinned a little.

"Yeah." Alan smirked.

"Don't worry, I was doing the same thing." Jess chuckled.

"Normally I would've just gone outside or something, but with the rain..." Alan nodded his understanding.

"Yeah, understandable. Don't worry, it's fine. You can be up here all you want," he assured her. Jess smiled.

"Thanks."

"Do you mind?" he asked, motioning to the desk chair. Jess shook her head.

"No, go ahead." Alan nodded and sat down.

"So...what's eating you?" he asked gently. Jess looked dazed for a second, but quickly recovered herself.

"What makes you think something's bothering me?" Alan chuckled.

"Because when I came in you were laying on the bed tossing a baseball in the air," he stated. Jess looked bewildered.

"So?" He smiled.

"Don would do the same thing whenever something was bugging him," Alan explained. Jess smirked slightly. "You wanna talk about it?" he offered kindly. Jess looked down, tossing the baseball back and forth between her hands.

"Thanks for the offer, but it's kind of a long story," she replied honestly. Alan nodded.

"Well, if you ever do wanna talk...I'm here," he told her sincerely. Jess looked at him and smiled.

"Thanks." Alan returned the smile.

"Anytime."

"Hey, there you guys are," Don said as he entered the room. "What are you guys doing up here?" Alan and Jess shared a look.

"Hiding," they answered in unison. Don raised his eyebrows, but then starting chuckling.

"Glad I'm not the only one who does it," he commented. Alan grinned, and Jess snickered.

"Well, I'll leave you two alone," Alan said, getting up to leave. "Dinner should be ready in about a half hour," he added as he left. Don and Jess nodded.

"So, you like baseball, huh?" Jess questioned sarcastically, gesturing to all the baseball stuff in the room. Don chuckled.

"Yeah, I kinda do," he replied in the same tone. Jess smirked. "So...anything you wanna tell me?" he inquired, much more serious. Jess sighed.

"Mac came to see you today, didn't he?" she guessed.

"You should've told me," Don said simply. Jess nodded.

"I know. I started to, but I was afraid you might try to talk me out of it," she admitted. Don sighed and sat down in the chair Alan had previously occupied.

"You were probably right," he conceded. Jess raised her eyebrows. "I probably would've tried to talk you out of it."

"So, did you..." Jess started slowly. Don nodded.

"Yeah, I signed it," he told her. Jess looked at him questioningly. "Daniels explained some stuff." She nodded, seeming to accept that answer.

"Thanks," she said quietly. Don smiled.

"Next time, just..._you_ tell me first, before I have to find out from someone else, OK?" he proposed. Jess nodded.

"I can do that," she agreed.

* * *

**A/N: Well, I hope you liked that chapter! I'm not sure when I'll update again, but it'll probably be relatively soon. Anyway, as always reviews are greatly appreciated!**


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: Finally a new chapter! Sorry it's taken me so long to update. Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

chapter 26

"How you holding up?" Megan asked Don gently as they were getting some files together.

"What are you talking about?" Megan gave him a look. "It's not a big deal," he assured her, knowing she meant how he was handling working with his ex.

"You sure? Because you and Robin seem to be forcing the politeness," she pointed out. Don sighed.

"It's fine," he told her. Though he wouldn't admit it out loud that being around Robin again was more than a little awkward, but Robin Brooks was good at her job, and he knew that. Besides, he knew they were both professional enough to not let their personal stuff get in the way of their work.

"Oh...looks like you have a visitor," Megan stated. Don turned around to see Jess coming over.

"Hey," Jess greeted.

"Hey, we're just finishing up some stuff and then we can go," Don told her.

"OK," Jess shrugged, and sat on his desk.

"So, what's up? I figured you'd have school," Megan inquired.

"Half-day, teacher conferences," Jess answered. Megan nodded.

"Ah."

"Yeah, we're gonna meet dad and Charlie for lunch," Don added. Megan grinned.

"Sounds good."

"Hey, I was wondering if you had those files? Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt," Robin said as she came over, noticing Jess.

"You weren't," Don assured her.

"I'll go get those files for you, I think David and Colby have them," Megan told her, and went to go find the two.

Jess tried to hide her smirk as she noticed the tension between Don and Robin. Robin had a curious expression as she took in the teenager's appearance. Jess was wearing her low-rise cargo pants, a cut-off AC/DC t-shirt that didn't really cover her midsection, and her blue jean jacket that had paint splattered all over it. Don had a feeling he knew what Robin was thinking so he decided he should probably just introduce them and get it over with, but Megan, David, and Colby came over before he got the chance.

"Here are those files," David said politely, handing Robin the files.

"Thank you. I'll let you know if I need anything else." The team nodded, and Robin left.

Don started to grab his jacket and keys, while Jess noticed the rest of their expressions.

"So, how long were you sleeping with her?" Jess asked Don lightly. Colby tried to cover his laugh with a cough, while David was biting both lips and looking around to avoid getting into the conversation, and Megan was grinning and trying not to laugh. Don was scowling.

"I'll be back later," he told the team, choosing to ignore Jess' question. They nodded, still trying, unsuccessfully, to keep the smirks off their faces. "Let's go," he added to Jess, and started walking away.

"Oh come on, you're seriously not gonna tell me anything?" she questioned bluntly as she followed him into the elevator. He shook his head.

"Nope."

xxxxx

The next day, Don and the team were finishing up some paperwork from the last case. Thankfully, they hadn't gotten a new one yet, so they had a chance to catch up on the stacks of paperwork that covered their desks.

"Hey," Don greeted Robin when he met up with her as he came out of the break room.

"Hey yourself. I just came by to run over some details before I talk to the judge this afternoon."

"Sure, whatever you need."

"So...can I ask you something?" she questioned hesitantly as they started walking. Don nodded.

"Yeah, sure."

"That girl, from yesterday...who is she?" Don took a deep breath. "I mean you seem to know her pretty well, and she seemed pretty comfortable around here." Don smirked.

"She can get comfortable anywhere," he remarked. Robin still looked curious.

"So...who is she? She's can't be that old..."

"She's almost eighteen. Her name's Jess," Don informed her. Robin nodded slowly.

"So, how do you know her?" Don sighed, stopping to look Robin in the eyes.

"She's my daughter," he told her. Robin looked shocked, and a little disbelieving at the same time.

"Your...daughter?" Don nodded. "I didn't know you had a daughter."

"Neither did I until about a month ago." Robin took a deep breath.

"Wow...you...have a daughter," she sighed in astonishment. Don nodded. "A seventeen year old daughter." Again he nodded. "Wow. Who would've thought..." Don grinned slightly, and nodded in agreement. "So...um...who's her mother?" Robin asked slowly. Don looked away for a second, and then back at her.

"Her mother was a one night stand a long time ago. It's a long story, but she's not exactly parent material so Jess going back with her wasn't exactly an option. And now Jess is living with me." Robin nodded slowly.

"So...if you don't mind me asking...how did you find out?"

"Fair question, I guess," Don shrugged. "Um...it's just kinda complicated," he answered honestly.

"That's fine, I was just curious," she dismissed, though Don could tell she wanted to push it further. "Anyway, we should be getting back to work."

xxxxx

"Charlie!" Jess snapped for the third time in the last five minutes. She was attempting to finish her math homework, but Charlie couldn't keep from looking over her shoulder, and muttering about the problems, and not even listening to music as loud as her iPod would allow was enough to distract her.

"Sorry," he apologized again. Jess rolled her eyes.

"Just stop looking over my shoulder. I hate this subject enough without you making it take me longer than normal to finish up this stupid assignment." Charlie grinned innocently, and started to walk away.

Alan couldn't help but chuckle at the two. He knew Charlie wasn't able to stop himself when it came to numbers, but he also noticed Jess seemed to have inherited Don's patience, or lack thereof, when it came to Charlie looking over her shoulder. He remembered clearly Don snapping at Charlie to stop looking over his shoulder when he was doing his math homework in high school. Though it was easier for Jess to notice since she was working on the couch and could easily see Charlie mentally critiquing her work, whereas Don usually did his homework at the dining room table or in his room and Charlie would be behind him.

Jess sighed exasperatedly, pulling her knees closer so she was able to hit her head on her notebook without as much effort, when Charlie tried to discretely walk back over to try to take a peek at her homework.

"Charlie, I swear to God if you don't stop coming over here I'm going to hit you, _hard_!" she threatened. Charlie gulped, and went over and sat down in the arm chair by Alan, who was laughing quietly behind his paper.

"Hey guys," Don greeted as he came in the house.

"Hey," they replied.

"The lasagna should be ready in about ten minutes," Alan informed him. Don nodded.

Charlie got up from the chair where he had been fidgeting, and Jess growled when he tried to inconspicuously look over her shoulder again. Alan shook his head in amusement at his younger son, while his older son was trying not to laugh.

"I wasn't kidding Chuck," Jess warned. Charlie turned around, but then back again.

"Come on, just -"

"Charlie!"

"Sorry."

"What is up with you two?" Don inquired, smirking. Charlie rolled his eyes.

"I'm about to hit your brother," Jess answered through gritted teeth. Charlie shook his head.

"I'm just trying to help," he muttered.

"No, you're being nosy," she corrected.

"I'm gonna go check on the food," Alan said, getting up and going into the kitchen.

"Well, if you just -" Charlie was cut off when Jess exhaled loudly in annoyance and repeatedly hit her head with her math book.

* * *

**A/N: Well, I hope you liked that chapter! I had intended to put more in it, but if I had it would've been extremely long. I've already started on the next one though, so I should have an update up soon. As always reviews are GREATLY appreciated!**


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: Yay quick update! Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

chapter 27

"Hey Chuck," Don greeted as Charlie came over to his desk.

"Don't call me Chuck." Don smirked.

"So, what're you doing here?"

"Larry was coming by to see Megan, and I decided to tag along to come visit with my big brother." Don glanced over and saw Larry and Megan talking and laughing in the break room.

"So, to what do I owe this visit? I assume you had a reason for wanting to come see me." Charlie grinned slightly.

"I can't come see my brother without some ulterior motive?" Don raised his eyebrows.

"You can, but I doubt you did." Charlie smirked.

"OK, fine, I admit there was something I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh yeah? What's that?" Don questioned.

"I wanted to ask about Jess," Charlie answered, sitting down across from Don.

"What about her?"

"I was curious about her college plans." Don looked over at his brother.

"What?"

"Well, I mean she's taking AP Calculus, but said she hates that subject." Don looked bewildered. "I was just wondering what her plans were."

"Why?" Charlie looked at him curiously.

"You're not curious about what she plans on doing in the future?" he asked incredulously. Don rolled his eyes.

"Of course I am!" he said firmly. "But I'm still trying to get her to tell me how high school's going, I doubt she's gonna bring up her plans for college." Charlie shrugged.

"I just figured you might know. Most seniors have already started applying to schools, I wasn't sure if she had or not."

"I don't know," Don admitted.

"She's smart," Charlie remarked. Don chuckled.

"Yeah, I know."

"From what I saw, she didn't make any mistakes on that homework," Charlie continued. Don sighed.

"What do you want me to say Charlie? I know she's smart, but she doesn't mention school that much." Charlie nodded.

"I was just curious. Tell her if she needs any help with applications or recommendations to just ask." Don grinned.

"I will Charlie."

xxxxx

Jess had fallen asleep on the couch after school, not getting much sleep the night before. She woke up to someone shaking her lightly, and opened her eyes to see Don standing over her.

"Hey sleepyhead." She rubbed her face to wake herself up.

"What time is it?" Don smirked.

"Almost eight. You hungry?" Jess grinned as she sat up.

"Is that a rhetorical question?" Don chuckled.

"Chinese is in the kitchen."

xxxxx

"So, how was school?" Don asked lightly as they were cleaning up after dinner.

"Seriously? That's the best small talk you can come up with?" Jess scoffed. Don rolled his eyes.

"Actually, I was asking because Charlie brought it up earlier." Jess furrowed her brows in confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

"He came by the office today and was asking about your plans for college." Don noticed Jess turn her attention to the food she was putting away. "I told him I didn't know."

"Why does he care anyway?"

"Because he noticed how smart you are when he was -"

"Looking over my shoulder?" she finished, annoyed. Don sighed, but nodded.

"Yeah. He said it was for an AP Calculus class?" Jess just put the food in the fridge, purposefully avoiding looking at him, but nodded.

"Yeah, so what?" Don was curious as to what was with her tone, but hoped she might tell him if he kept pushing.

"So, he was curious about what you were gonna do for college, if you had applied places already, stuff like that..."

"I'm not," she said simply, but quiet. Don looked at her in confusion.

"Not what?" he questioned. Jess sighed, rolling her eyes.

"I'm not going to college." Don looked at her curiously, and opened his mouth to say something but she spoke first. "Look, the only reason I'm taking those AP classes is because Mac signed me up for them. It was his idea, he's the one pushing it. Personally, I could care less."

"You don't wanna go to college?" he asked, baffled by why she wouldn't want to. Jess just shook her head nonchalantly.

"Nope."

"Why not?"

"Why does it matter?" she retorted.

"You're a smart kid, you can't honestly tell me you don't wanna be anything more than a high school graduate," he shot back.

"Look, I'm not my brother. I'm not the college type." Don had to grab her arm to stop her from leaving.

"Hey, come on. I'm not saying you are your brother, but why aren't you the college type? You make straight A's, you read more than anyone I've met, and you pick up on everything. How does that not make you a good candidate for college?" Jess rolled her eyes.

"Because I'm not interested. Besides, it's not like any school would give me a second glance after they see my record anyway," she objected as she wrenched her arm out of his grasp and started walking away. Don sighed.

"So that's what this is about?" he inquired dismally. "You know, you're not gonna get very far if you keep thinking like that," he told her firmly. Jess stopped walking and turned around to face him.

"I was never gonna get very far in the first place. And I screwed up any chance I had at getting anywhere." Don opened his mouth to rebut that comment but Jess cut him off. "Look, I don't get any more chances, OK? I screw up again, and there are plenty of people that are ready to make sure I don't. I know that, and I've accepted that. It's time you learned that too."

xxxxx

"She's right," Daniels told him grimly. Don had come to talk to him about why Jess was so set against college. "Or at least partly," he amended. Don looked at him curiously. "Jess has made plenty of mistakes, and there are plenty of people waiting for her to mess up again so they can lock her up and throw away the key. But there are also a few people out there who want her to succeed, and are willing to give her a chance."

"So, why does she refuse to believe that?" Don questioned bluntly. Daniels chuckled.

"Because she's never met any of them. Before you came into her life the only people telling her she _could_ do something with her life was me and her brother. Now, Kyle's dead, and she hardly ever listened to me in the first place." Daniels took a deep breath as he saw the thoughtful look on Don's face. "Look Don, throughout her whole life Jess has had people telling her that she's no better than anyone else in the neighborhood she grew up in, that she's nothing more than a screw up who's going nowhere. She's heard it enough, she started to believe it." Don nodded, he knew she believed it, that was the problem.

"So, how do I convince her it's not true?" Daniels gave him a small smile.

"I wish I knew."

xxxxx

"New case," Don announced as the team gathered around.

"What is it?" Colby questioned.

"Arms dealer never made it to arraignment. No signs of foul play. It looks like he cleared out on his own."

"Looks like he has a temper too," Megan added, looking over a file.

"Yeah, which is why we've got protection detail on the witnesses."

"So, how are we gonna find this guy?" David asked.

"That's why I'm here." They turned to see a man standing in the doorway.

"Hey Coop, welcome back. Guys, this is Agent Billy Cooper, my old partner from Fugitive Recovery," Don introduced to Megan and Colby, who weren't on the team last time he showed up. They exchanged pleasantries. Billy turned to the team.

"So, what do you know?"

* * *

**A/N: Well, hope you liked that chapter! The next one is gonna start off with the case, so stay tuned. I'll try to have an update soon, but I've got finals coming up so I don't know how much time I'll have. Anyway, reviews are GREATLY appreciated! I love to get feedback!**


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: I actually updated quickly, yay! This chapter mostly just deals with their new case. Enjoy!**

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chapter 28

"Adrian Carmichael. The guy's smart, this was the first time there had been enough evidence to go to court. The charges are just drug charges, but it means getting the access to find more evidence against him. He's a suspect in over a dozen homicides," Don was informing them.

"And those are just the ones we've been able to connect him to. There are at least a couple dozen more with the same MO. He's also suspected of dealing weapons to known terrorists," Billy added.

"So, how are we gonna find him? He doesn't have any family in the area, and we have his associates under surveillance," David noted.

"But he does have a grudge," Billy pointed out.

"What are you talking about?" Don questioned.

"About five years ago, there was a homicide that bears a lot of resemblance to Charmichael. Kid named Patrick Ruiz was killed, same style and everything, but LAPD was convinced it was just another gang killing."

"But you think it was Charmichael?" Megan guessed. Billy nodded.

"Yeah. LAPD's main suspect was the kid's friend, who they can place at the scene, but he disappeared before they could prosecute. I think Charmichael killed the kid, and his friend saw it, but knew Charmichael would come after him so he skipped town."

"Any proof?" David inquired.

"Nothing solid enough for a DA, but I have a strong hunch, and my hunches are usually right."

"So, if Charmichael is after the kid's friend because he witnessed the killing, where is this kid?" Megan asked.

"I think he's back in town," Billy told her. "Charmichael's got good lawyers, they'll be able to get him off for the drug charges, but the fact that he disappeared and hasn't shown up to any of his associates points to -"

"Him being out for revenge," Don finished. Billy nodded.

"Exactly."

"So, what makes you think this kid's back in town? Besides the fact that Charmichael is out for revenge." Billy looked over at David.

"Because...LAPD is looking for him again. They'd only do that if they had reason to believe he was back."

"Alright, let's get a hold of the files from that homicide case, and talk to the officer heading up the investigation."

xxxxx

Jess was on her way to the library after school when she heard someone call her name. She turned around and saw who it was. Her eyes widened, and she smiled brightly.

"Oh my God! You're back! I missed you!" she squealed as she jumped into his waiting arms. He picked her up, hugging tightly.

"I missed you too Jess," he told her.

"Look at you," she jested, though with a proud undertone, when he put her back down. She patted his fatigues. "You look good in uniform." He smirked.

"Thank you."

"So, how's Army life?" she questioned lightly.

"Not too bad, but I miss my annoying little sis." Jess smiled.

"I miss you too Joey." He smiled, wrapping an arm around her shoulder as they started walking.

"So, how's life with your dad?" he asked seriously, though his tone was light. Jess smirked.

"You mean since I called you after I got drunk?" Joey chuckled.

"Yeah, smart ass. How have things been since I talked to you?"

"Fine."

"Liar."

"OK, fine-ish. It's complicated." Joey smirked at her attempt to avoid the question.

"Well, I have time before I have to get back so why don't we grab a couple hot dogs and you can explain it," he said teasingly, though in an unrelenting tone, as he pulled her toward the park.

"Fine," Jess sighed in defeat, though still smiling.

xxxxx

"Hey, I talked to LAPD, they're sending over what files they have from the case," Megan told Don. "And guess who the officer leading the case was..."

"Who?"

"Lt. Walker."

"OK, so where is he?" Megan shrugged.

"They said he went out to talk to someone, but didn't say who. They said they'd send him over when he got back."

"OK, sounds good."

xxxxx

Jess was trying to put the books in her messenger bag as she walked, but, not seeing where she was going, ended up bumping into someone.

"Sorry," she muttered. The person just kept walking though.

"You should look where you're walking." Jess' head shot up when she heard the all too familiar voice. She saw its owner standing by the building, watching her.

"What do you want?" she spat impatiently. Lt. Walker smirked.

"What makes you think I want something?" he questioned casually. Jess rolled her eyes.

"Because I'm not in cuffs," she stated simply. "The only times you show up is to arrest me or because you want something. So, what do you want?"

"Where is he?" Walker asked firmly. Jess shook her head in confusion.

"Where is who?"

"Don't play dumb kid, you know who. Where's Joey?" he asked again, more impatient this time. Jess shrugged.

"How should I know?" she retorted. Walker narrowed his eyes at her.

"We know he's back in town, it's only a matter of time before we find him. The question is, are you gonna go down for helping him..." Jess held his gaze.

"I don't know where he is." Walker took a step towards her.

"If I find out you're lying...next time you _will_ be leaving in cuffs."

xxxxx

"So, we ran the fingerprints from the case file, just to see if the kid changed his name or something...Look where we found him," Colby said, pulling up a file.

"He joined the Army?" Billy questioned disbelievingly.

"Yep. He was seventeen when his friend was murdered, seven months later he enlisted in Atlanta, Georgia as Joseph Benton."

"Looking at his service record, he's done pretty good for himself. Couple disciplinary problems early on, but since then he's got a good record, even a couple commendations," Megan read off.

"He's a good soldier. There's no one I'd rather have on my squad," a man said as he entered the room with David.

"Guys, this is Captain Davis, he's Benton's CO," David introduced.

"Nice to meet you," Don said, shaking the guy's hand. "What else can you tell us about Benton?"

"He's a good kid, good soldier. Why are you looking into him?" Davis asked, curious.

"Because Joseph Benton is actually Joey Scott," Walker said from the back of the room. They all turned to see him walking over to them.

"Hey Gary, where've you been?" Don questioned.

"Looking into a couple things. I just got the memo you guys were looking for this kid too."

"We think he might be in danger," Billy informed the two newcomers.

"What kind of danger?" Davis inquired, worry evident in his voice. Walker scoffed though.

"I think you've got that backwards. He's a killer, I doubt _he's_ the one in danger."

"We actually think that Adrian Charmichael is the killer, not him. We think Charmichael is going to come after him," Megan told him.

"Adrian Charmichael, the arms dealer?" Davis questioned. Megan nodded. "Jeez..."

"Charmichael had a lot of dealings with the gang Joey was in, but we still believe it was Joey who pulled the trigger on Ruiz. There was no evidence to suggest Charmichael was even there," Walker objected.

"That's why Charmichael's gotten away with everything so far, there's never any evidence," Billy argued.

"OK guys, settle down," Don told them, then turned to Davis. "Do you know where your guy is?" Davis shook his head slowly.

"Sorry. We just got back from a tour in Iraq, most of my guys are on leave."

"What about family or friends? He ever mention anyone?" Megan asked him.

"Benton never talks about his past, or anyone in it. Though, he did mention one person. Only one he ever talks about that he knew before he signed up. He said she lived here in LA, said he might try to visit."

"Did you get a name?" Colby questioned. Davis furrowed his brows.

"I think he called her RJ..."

"Dammit," Walker cursed, getting curious looks from everyone.

"You know who he's talking about?" David asked. Walker nodded grimly.

"Yeah." He grabbed a folder from the box of files from the homicide case, opened it up, and threw it down on the table. "Her."

Megan, Cobly, and David glanced at Don to see his reaction. Don's face was unreadable as he stared at Jess' mug shot in the file Walker had just thrown on the table.

* * *

**A/N: OK, I know I kinda left ya hanging there. Don't worry, I'm gonna try to update soon. I hope you liked this chapter though! Reviews are GREATLY appreciated!**


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: OK, I'd planned on having this up sooner but that didn't happen. FYI, moving sucks. And this chapter was harder to write, so that's part of why it took me longer. It might not be as good as some of my other chapters, but it gives you some much needed info. Anyway, enjoy!  
**

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chapter 29

"Yeah, I think that's her," Davis confirmed. "Benton has a picture of the two of them. Of course, they're both younger, but I'm pretty sure it's the same girl."

"If he did visit her, that means she lied when I talked to her earlier," Walker said.

"So, let's talk to her again, see if she'll tell us what she knows," Billy suggested, picking up the file and looking it over.

"Won't do any good, she's a chronic liar. If she does tell the truth, it'd be mixed up in all the lies, no way to tell what's the truth and what's the lie," Walker objected. Megan and Don glanced at each other.

"We'll try anyway," Don told him. "Megan, you guys try to figure out how Charmichael knew this guy was back in town, me and Coop are gonna go talk to her." Megan nodded, sharing a slightly uneasy look with David and Colby as Don and Billy left.

xxxxx

"Is it just me or is there something oddly familiar about this girl?" Billy asked Don on the way.

"What are you talking about?" Don replied, not looking over at him.

"Something about her just seems familiar."

"Ah."

"So are you gonna tell me?" Billy questioned, not looking up from Jess' file.

"Tell you what?" Don cast a quick glance over at Billy, who looked up at him.

"How you know this girl," he stated simply. Don kept his eyes on the road.

"We worked a case about a month ago..."

"And her brother was one of the victims. I read it in her file," Billy added at Don's questioning look. "What I'm curious about is why you reacted like you did when you saw her picture." Don didn't say anything. "Come on Don, we've known each other a long time. You know her. I just haven't figured out how." Don took a deep breath, not looking at Billy. "OK, what are we doing at your apartment? I thought we were going to talk to this girl," Billy noted as they pulled up to Don's apartment building.

"We are." Billy looked at Don curiously.

"What are you talking about?"

"She's my daughter," Don told him as he turned off the engine. Billy raised his eyebrows.

"Excuse me?" Don sighed.

"I said, she's my daughter," he repeated, looking Billy in the eyes. "After that case, her probation officer apparently had a hunch and wanted to run a DNA test. I went along with it because I remembered having a one night stand with her mother. The test came back a match." Billy's jaw dropped slightly.

"You're not kidding, are you?" Don shook his head. "Whoa..."

xxxxx

Jess sighed exasperatedly as she entered the kitchen. She dropped her messenger bag on the floor and looked in the fridge. She was tempted to grab one of the beers, but remembered how pissed Don would be and just grabbed a soda instead.

Don cleared his throat as he and Billy came into the kitchen, and Jess, in the middle of taking a drink, almost choked on the soda as she spun around to see who was there. Don and Billy were trying not to laugh. Jess held up a finger as she finished swallowing.

"Hey," Jess greeted shortly. "What are you doing here?" she questioned. Then, noticing Don seemed slightly uncomfortable, looked at him suspiciously, slightly narrowing her eyes. "Why do I get the feeling you didn't just stop by on a break?" Billy chuckled.

"You weren't kidding when you said she caught everything," he muttered to Don, who sighed.

"Jess, this is Billy Cooper, my old partner from when I worked Fugitive Recovery. Coop, this is Jess," Don introduced. Billy gave a slight grin and nod in greeting.

"Hi," Jess muttered.

"Do you know Lt. Walker?" Don questioned. Jess rolled her eyes.

"If by 'know' you mean do we hate each others guts, then yes. Why?"

"He said you lied to him," Don told her. Jess snickered.

"I've lied to him a lot, what'd I lie about this time?" she retorted. Billy smirked, while Don just rolled his eyes.

"Apparently Joseph Benton, or rather Joey Scott, was going to visit you, and you told Walker he hadn't," Billy answered. Jess shrugged.

"I didn't lie to him." Don raised his eyebrows skeptically. "What? I didn't. He asked me if I knew where Joey was, and I told him I didn't because I don't. He never asked me if I'd seen Joey, not that I would've told him, but he just asked if I knew where he was."

"Technicality," Don stated pointedly. Jess smirked.

"So what? Walker's a bastard. Besides, he apparently already knows where Joey's been if he knew I'd seen him because I'm betting Joey used his little nickname for me with his Army buddies so they wouldn't know who he was actually talking about. And Walker is one of the few people who would know he's talking about me."

"How'd he get RJ anyway?" Billy asked, curious.

"Initials," Jess answered nonchalantly. "Rain Jessica Zamora...RJZ. Sometimes Joey would use RJ." Billy nodded slightly.

"Can I ask you something?" Don asked Jess apprehensively. She shrugged. "Joey's last name is Scott..." Jess smirked.

"And you're wondering whether or not it's just a coincidence if he and Kyle have the same last name?" she guessed. Don nodded. She took a deep breath. "It's not a coincidence. Joey's not my brother though, at least not biologically, but he's close." Don furrowed his brows in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"Kyle's my half-brother, and Joey's Kyle's half-brother. They have the same dad, me and Kyle have the same mom."

"That's confusing," Billy remarked. Jess smirked, but continued.

"Their dad was able to get joint custody of Kyle after he was born. He married Joey's mom when Kyle was about two or three, and then they had Joey. When their dad died, Joey's mom didn't want them to grow apart so she moved down the street from where mom and Kyle lived. Kyle and Joey were around each other all the time, and when I came along Joey always saw me as his little sister too," she explained. "Me and Kyle were close, but there was a big age gap. There wasn't as much of one with Joey, and he's always been a mix between my best friend and big brother."

"So, you don't know where Joey is?" Don inquired. Jess shook her head.

"Nope. Joey wouldn't tell me that."

"Why not?" Billy questioned. Jess grinned.

"Because, like I said, he's a mix between my big brother and best friend. In this case, the big brother part thinks that the less I know -"

"The less danger you're in." Jess looked at him curiously.

"I wouldn't have phrased it that way, but essentially yes. He thinks he's protecting me."

"From who? Charmichael?" Jess shot Billy a curious look.

"That's a name I haven't heard for a while," she commented.

"What do you know about him?" Don asked slowly. Jess chuckled.

"That he's a psychotic son of a bitch."

"You know why he killed Patrick Ruiz?" Billy asked her. Jess glanced over at him.

"I thought you said you talked to Walker?" she shot back sarcastically.

"We did. But we think Charmichael killed Ruiz, not Joey," Billy told her. "Which is why we think Charmichael's after him." Jess didn't say anything.

"You already knew that, didn't you?" Don guessed. Jess took a deep breath before slowly nodding.

"That's why Joey left. If he hadn't...Charmichael would've killed him, or Walker would've put him away for murder. Either way, it was better if Joey just left. It took some convincing, but he finally agreed." She exhaled, and closed her eyes for a second, before looking back up at them. "How did Charmichael know Joey was back?"

"We don't know yet."

* * *

**A/N: Well, I hope you liked that chapter! It didn't exactly turn out like I'd wanted, but it was hard to put what I saw happening into words. I've started working on the next chapter, but it might end up being hard to write too. I'll try to have an update up soon though! And as always, reviews are GREATLY appreciated!**


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: Yay, I updated quickly! lol, anyway, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

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chapter 30

"Hey, so what'd she say?" Megan asked Don when he and Billy got back to the office.

"She saw him, but he didn't tell her where he was going."

"You're kidding, how did you get her to tell you anything?" Walker inquired incredulously.

"Apparently, you just didn't ask the right question," Billy answered, his tone slightly amused.

"What are you talking about?"

"You asked where he was, not if she'd seen him," he clarified. Colby chuckled, David was trying to bite back a smirk, and Megan was biting her lips to keep from laughing. Walker just scowled.

"Figures," he muttered bitterly.

"So, did you guys get anywhere on how Charmichael figured out Joey was in town?" Don questioned. Megan shook her head.

"No, not yet."

Before Don could ask anything else, Davis entered the room.

"Benton didn't report back to base. He's AWOL."

xxxxx

Don got back to the apartment, exhausted. He grabbed a beer out of the fridge and headed into the living room. Jess was sitting on the couch with her feet propped up on the coffee table, listening to her iPod, doing homework. Don walked over and pulled out one of her headphones. She looked up quickly.

"Oh, hey," she greeted slowly, pulling out the other headphone as he sat down.

Don took a slow deep breath as he leaned back and laid his head on the back of the couch. Jess didn't say anything, just looked back at her homework. Both were silent for a few minutes.

"So, what are you working on?" Don asked casually, finally breaking the silence. Jess looked confused.

"Huh? Oh, this. Uh, English." He nodded, taking a drink. They fell back into silence until Jess finally sighed and apprehensively asked, "So, have you found Joey yet?" Don looked down at his hands for a second before answering.

"No. He's AWOL." Jess raised her eyebrows.

"What?"

"We think he might've figured out Charmichael was after him, but who knows. Either way, he's missing." Jess didn't say anything, just started to fiddle with her pen. Don watched her thoughtfully for a minute before cautiously asking, "Would you have told me?"

"Told you what?"

"About Joey. That Walker came to see you. _Any_ of it." Jess looked down, shrugging.

"I don't know." Don nodded slowly, seeming to accept that answer.

"Was today the first time Joey'd visited you?" Jess didn't look up at him, but she shook her head.

"No," she answered honestly. "He came to see me a couple years ago when I was in juvie." Don looked at her questioningly. "I told him it was a stupid move, that someone might recognize him and they'd come after him again, but...I was still happy to see him."

"Why didn't you tell me about him?" Don questioned bluntly. Jess chuckled hollowly, and looked up at him.

"I haven't told you about a lot of things, or people," she retorted simply. Don nodded contemplatively for a second, seemingly considering something, then looked her in the eyes.

"Why don't you start," he suggested gently. Jess held his gaze, and swallowed hard.

"It's not that simple," she told him earnestly.

The two stared at each other in silence for another minute. Don took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a second.

"Don't get mad at me, but I have to ask..." he started. Jess looked at him inquisitively. "Do you have any idea where Joey would go?" Jess looked away. "Jess..." She shook her head.

"I can't..." Don sighed.

"Why not?" he pushed. Jess just shook her head again, and shut her notebook and book, getting ready to get up when Don grabbed her shoulder. "Hey... We don't think it was Joey who killed Ruiz."

"Thinking something...and being able to prove it, are two different things," she stated slowly and quietly.

"That's why we need your help," Don told her softly. "If we're right, and Charmichael _is_ after Joey, we _need_ to find him." Jess bit her lip, not looking at him. "Please..."

"I'll think about it," she sighed, closing her eyes for a second before getting up to leave.

Don watched her go, and rubbed a hand over his face. He hated having to ask, but knew they probably wouldn't be able to find Joey without Jess's help. And Don knew, even if Jess didn't admit it, that she was still shaken from Kyle's death, and he didn't know how she would handle it if Joey died too, which was a very real possibility if Charmichael found him before they did.

xxxxx

"OK, so we're looking at any and all possibilities?" Colby questioned as he looked over Joey's file again. Megan nodded with a faint smirk.

"I've already got people keeping an extra eye on his gang," Walker informed them.

"And Davis is talking to his guys, see if any of them have an idea about where he might be," David told them.

"And he's still our best lead to Charmichael," Billy added, looking up from Charmichael's file.

"I've got Charlie going over some old files, see if he can put together a list of possible hiding places, for _either _of them," Don said.

"Joey won't go somewhere he knows you'll be looking." They turned and saw Jess standing in the doorway.

"Hey," Don greeted, giving her a small reassuring smile, knowing how much she didn't want to be there, as she walked over.

"What are you doing here?" Walker asked sharply. Jess rolled her eyes.

"I asked her to help," Don told him firmly. With one last glare at Jess, Walker huffed and went back to what he was doing.

xxxxx

Don exhaled in frustration. Walker and Jess were getting on his last nerve with the back and forth bickering. David, Colby, and Billy were watching them in amusement, while Megan was watching curiously, no doubt studying them. Don sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Guys..." he said in warning for the umpteenth time in the last hour.

"You know, I would've put my money on you killing Ruiz," Walker commented coldly, purposefully trying to push Jess, who merely smirked at the comment.

"Well, you kinda screwed yourself over on that one, huh?" she retorted, tone laced with sarcasm and teasing.

"What do you mean?" Megan questioned curiously. Jess only smirked wider.

"He's the one who gave me my alibi," she answered with a triumphant grin at Walker, who rolled his eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Don asked, having an uneasy feeling about the answer. Jess shrugged.

"Ask him," she said, nodding to Walker, who glared at her.

"Why?" Don inquired slowly. Jess smirked.

"Because I'm curious if he'll admit it or not."

"Admit what?"

"Keep pushing it kid," Walker growled.

"Oh, come on, you're just mad you got knocked on your ass," she shot back. Colby and David shared a looked, while Don looked at Jess incredulously. Billy was staying out of it, and Megan was just watching.

"Keep it up and you're gonna end up just like them," Walker stated. Jess's teasing expression was gone in an instant, replaced with one of anger. Don held his hand up to keep Jess from advancing on Walker, seeing she was losing her temper.

"Why don't you ju-" Jess was cut off from whatever she was about to say when someone clamped a hand over her mouth. She spun around angrily after pulling their hand off, coming face to face with Daniels.

"Give us a minute Jess," he said calmly, though the look on his face said he was fighting to stay calm. Jess opened her mouth to object and he told her firmly, "Take a walk Jess." The FBI agents in the room, especially Don, were watching the exchange curiously. Jess looked like she was going to argue, but Daniels shot her a warning look and she rolled her eyes and stormed out of the room. After she was gone, they noticed Daniels was staring daggers at Walker.

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**A/N: Well, I hope you liked that chapter! Yes, I know you're probably curious about what's going on there at the end, but if I hadn't cut it off where I did the chapter would've been extremely long. And just in case there's any confusion, I know Walker might come off as a jerk in this story, but in all honesty he's one of my favorite characters, it's just that I can easily picture him acting like a jerk so that's why he might seem like it sometimes. Don't hate me for it. :) Anyway, I'm gonna try to have an update up as soon as I can, but no promises on when that will be. Reviews are GREATLY appreciated!**


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N: Yay, another quick update! I dunno, this chapter just got into my head, but it was slightly difficult to write. You'll find out a little about Jess's past, not too much but it will give you a glimpse, you'll be finding out more in the coming chapters too. Anyway, enjoy!**

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chapter 31

"It's been a while Daniels," Walker remarked lightly, breaking the tense silence in the room.

"Not for a lack of trying, right Lt.?" Daniels chuckled sarcastically.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he retorted heatedly.

"You know damn well what that means Walker," Daniels snapped. "You just _love_ making my job harder, don't you?" Don and the team all seemed confused, but Walker was still staring at Daniels. "It's not bad enough I have a hard enough time keeping her out of trouble, but you have to come along just waiting for her to screw up."

"That's crap," Walker denied. Daniels gave him an incredulous look.

"Is it? You just wanna see how far you can push her before she snaps. Well, guess what, if she does, I hope it's at you!"

"OK, guys, calm down," Don told them. The two were still glaring at each other. "What are you talking about Daniels?" Daniels sighed, and looked over at Don.

"Jess has a temper, no news there, but it causes her to make stupid decisions, and it gets a hell of a lot worse when people get under her skin. And _he_ - " Daniels motioned to Walker. "knows exactly what buttons to push to get her to go off."

"Why would I need to push buttons when she's screwing up on her own?" Walker shot back.

"Joey's not in a gang anymore! Besides, with some of the crap you pull, I'd have hit you too, and you really need to get over that," Daniels retorted.

"Guys," Don said in warning. Daniels took a deep breath.

"I need to go talk to Jess," he muttered, but looked at Walker as he turned to leave. "Why don't you, _for once_, try to help them instead of trying to find ways to send them back to jail," he said coldly before walking out.

xxxxx

"Hey," Don called as he caught up to Daniels at the elevator. "What the hell was that all about?"

"That guy just pisses me off," he sighed. "Remember when I said there were a lot of people waiting for Jess to mess up again so they can lock her up and throw away the key?" Don nodded slowly.

"Yeah."

"Well, Walker's one of them." Daniels rubbed a hand over his face tiredly. "I was Joey's probation officer before I was Jess's." Don looked surprised for a second. "His mom had finally started dating again, and being a rebellious teen he made a stupid mistake, ended up on probation. Then, after a while it was all gang related stuff." Daniels chuckled hollowly. "I had a hunch he would leave town when Walker started putting pressure on him for Patrick's death, but I tried to ignore it. I was just happy he'd finally left the gang. Thankfully, one of their friends is a shot caller and let Joey get out, no problem." Don looked at him curiously, unsure of where this was going. "The sad part is...that even though Joey was the main reason Jess started hanging around the gang in the first place...after he left, she just got out of control. She was always getting into fights, never going to school, and she was being careless and stupid, and getting caught. I can't tell you the number of phone calls I'd get saying the cops had picked her up again. She was in and out of different foster homes and jail all the time, and finally she messed up big time by stealing a car." Daniels looked at Don. "When Kyle came to see me, and told me he wanted to get custody of Jess...I was glad. I thought that maybe he'd be able to get her to do better, but she's too stubborn. She didn't want to change, and it took Kyle threatening to put her back in foster care for her to finally start to clean up her act." He took a deep breath. "When she was released, Walker talked to the judge, and got part of her probation to be that she couldn't have _any_ association with gang members."

"That's why you told Walker Joey wasn't in a gang anymore," Don guessed. Daniels nodded.

"Yeah, I knew that he'd probably try to use that to get her for violating probation. Of course, I already talked to a judge anyway." Don furrowed his brows.

"About?" Daniels smirked.

"Getting that little part removed, at least temporarily." Don still looked curious. "Joey's smart, and you _will_ need Jess's help to find him, probably Mark's too. And Mark is still in the gang," Daniels explained. Don nodded.

"Ah."

"Yeah. But, just so you know, her hanging around Mark isn't necessarily a bad thing."

"Why's that?" Don questioned. Daniels smiled slightly.

"Because, other than Joey, Mark is probably the best friend she's got," he stated simply. "He may be involved in some bad things, but he cares about her, and he's a good friend to her." Don nodded.

"So, can I ask you something?" he asked cautiously. Daniels gave him a curious look, but nodded. "Am I making a mistake, getting her involved in this?" Daniels chuckled, smirking at him as he shook his head.

"No. She would be trying to help Joey either way. It's actually probably better that she's doing it with you guys, because on her own she'd probably do something stupid."

xxxxx

Jess was leaning on the rail outside. She'd finally calmed down, and knew she shouldn't have let Walker's comment get to her, but for some reason he always seemed to know how to get under her skin.

"Jess?" She turned around quickly at the familiar voice, and saw Alan standing there, watching her curiously.

"Hey," she greeted. "What are you doing here?" He chuckled slightly.

"I was gonna ask you the same thing. Charlie's car broke down, and he needed a ride," he told her. Jess nodded, but noticed Charlie wasn't in sight.

"So...where is he?" Alan looked around, and, not seeing Charlie either, shrugged.

"Probably already inside. He has a one-track mind when he's working on stuff like this." Jess chuckled. "So, what were -"

"Hey dad, what are you doing here?" Don interrupted, coming over with Daniels.

"Dropping your brother off since his car broke down."

"Ah. Must've missed him."

"Aren't you going to introduce me?" Alan finally asked. Don and Jess shared an apprehensive look, but Daniels chuckled and shook Alan's hand.

"Mac Daniels."

"Nice to meet you."

"He's my probation officer," Jess informed Alan, seeing he still seemed curious.

"Oh."

"Yeah, and me and her need to talk," Daniels added, sending a look to Jess, who rolled her eyes but followed. "It was nice to meet you Mr. Eppes."

"You too." As the two walked off, Alan turned back to his son, sending him an inquiring look.

"Don't," Don told him before he could start asking questions. "Come on, let's go find Charlie. She'll be back once they're done."

xxxxx

Daniels and Jess were walking, neither having said anything since leaving Don and Alan.

"So..." Jess prompted nervously. Daniels smirked at her apprehensiveness. "Look, I'm sorry I lost my cool, but -"

"I know why you did Jess," he assured her. Jess looked at him in confusion. "Walker likes to push your buttons, I know that."

"So, you're not gonna lecture me on my temper?" she questioned in slight disbelief. Daniels chuckled.

"Do you remember the first time I met you?" Jess shrugged.

"I think so. Why?"

"You were nine," he started. "I was over talking to Joey and his mom, and you came over so she could stitch up your hand. You'd gotten into a fight at the park with this older kid, who happened to be carrying a knife." Jess smirked at the memory, chuckling lightly. "The funny thing was that apparently you weren't even supposed to go to that park at all, Kyle had told you not to because of all the gangs that hung out there." Jess stopped smiling and looked down. "You've always been a fighter Jess, a quality that as a person I admire, but as your probation officer wish you could control." Daniels stopped walking, turning Jess to face him. "You've always fought anything that comes your way head on. But I can't seem to get you to ever _stop_ fighting. Jess, look at me." She reluctantly looked him in the eyes. "You are one of the toughest kids I've ever met, but you still haven't learned how to pick your battles. And you and I both know that _if you don't_, you'll be dead before you turn twenty." Jess swallowed, holding his gaze for a minute.

"You think I chose the wrong battle this time?" she inquired quietly. "Because, no matter what DNA says, Joey _is_ my brother." Daniels grinned slightly, shaking his head.

"No, I don't think you chose wrong. This is one battle I think you should fight," he told her. She looked slightly surprised. "Just do one thing..."

"What?"

"Don't be stupid." Jess opened her mouth, but Daniels held up a hand to stop her from saying anything. "Look, you've been doing good with your dad. Don't throw away the best chance you've ever had."

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**A/N: Well, hope you liked that chapter! I'll try to have an update as soon as I can, but I won't make promises on when that'll be. As always, reviews are GREATLY appreciated!**


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